Total Drama Once Again!
by Explorer of the Unknown
Summary: The Ridonculous Race has taken the world of television by storm! Naturally, Chris McLean does not take such news lying down. He brings back twenty-six contestants from all three generations for another action packed season of drama and danger located at Boney Island! With new rules and new challenges, it's gonna get crazy! This is Total Drama Once Again! Rated T to be safe.
1. Episode 1, Part 1

Disclaimer: The Total Drama series which does include the Ridonculous Race is not mine and never will be. It instead belongs to Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch who are gracious enough to allow it to air on Cartoon Network here in the United States in addition to several other countries besides on Teletoon in its native home of Canada.

Well folks this is Explorer of the Unknown (formerly 80jj) here in over my head yet again in an attempt at something many have tried to do before; writing their own season of Total Drama. Having been inspired by the recently aired spin-off mentioned above, which I highly recommend to all those who have not seen it, I made the decision to finally write something I've been thinking about for a long time. I sincerely hope that all who read this enjoy it.

But that's enough formalities for now. Let's get this show on the road!

* * *

 _ **Episode 1: Reunited And It Doesn't Feel So Good, Part 1**_

The camera panned to show Chris McLean standing at the end of a dock while reading a magazine with a rather unpleasant look.

"Unbelievable!" he exclaimed in disgust. "Those morons at Star Stalker actually have the nerve to call the Ridonculous Race the hottest show to ever hit reality TV? It's nothing but a ripoff of Total Drama World Tour! Seriously, who even came up with such a lame name?"

"Uh sir?" a voice nervously spoke up. Chris lowered his magazine to see that not only was camera facing him, the red light indicated that it was on and indeed rolling.

"Aw, crap!" the host's eyes went wide as he swiftly tossed what he had been holding aside and straightened out his hair before flashing the world his signature sadistic smile.

"Welcome fans!" he shouted with much enthusiasm. "I, Chris McLean, am back with a brand-spanking new season of Total Drama! Last season, we saw fourteen rookies battle it out in the ferocious wilds of Pahkitew Island, all while enduring starvation, brutal attacks from robotic animals, and some of the harshest challenges this show has ever seen!"

Chris took a brief moment to chuckle as he reminisced over the many mishaps that had occurred during the previous season. "That game of Truth or Scare was definitely one of my better ideas," he gloated before focusing back on the camera. "If you folks at home liked all of that, then you're gonna love what we've got this time around! During my vacation I took a little time to read some of my _many_ fan letters to see what everyone wanted to see when Total Drama made its comeback. For starters, to all those who love nostalgia, this season takes place at a familiar setting."

The camera then panned away to give the audience a full view of the island Chris was on, its most glaring feature being a cliff shaped like a skull. "That's right!" Chris cheered. "Since Camp Wawanawkwa is no more, we're back at our old home away from home, Boney Island!"

"Home to prehistoric wildlife," the shot then switched to a monstrous looking beaver growling menacingly at an equally vicious goose, "As well as the vicious mutants from our fourth season!" an almost jungle-like area was then shown where several roars and screeches could be heard."

Chris was once again in the center of the camera's frame before he continued. "Not only that, but I've got some special surprises in store for the contestants that are better kept secret until the time is just right." His face then grew into a dark smirk. "Or until I get bored, whichever comes first! Ha ha ha!"

He lazily shrugged. "You'll just have to wait and see, right here, right now on, Total! Drama! Once...Again!"

* * *

 _*theme song plays*_

* * *

Following the intro, the camera switched back to show Chris still standing on Boney Island's newly built dock.

"Time to get things underway," he said walking toward the dock's end. "What would Total Drama be without its competitors?" He stopped momentarily to stroke his chin in thought. "Probably much more of me which in my opinion, would make for a much better show. But unfortunately, it just wouldn't be the same without teens to torment, ha ha!"

He then gazed towards the lake to see that a boat was approaching. "Speaking of which," he grinned. "It looks like the first of our cast is about to arrive! From Total Drama: Pahkitew Island, the zombie-obsessed nut job and ultimate survivor, winner Shawn!"

The scruffy boy stepped off his boat cautiously before peering at his new surroundings. "Looks okay," he muttered. "Having this season on another island's a smart move, Chris. I've been doing some research and it seems the theory that zombies can't swim is solid."

The host proceeded to roll his eyes. "Really wise choice investing your winnings into something like _that_ zombie boy," he said sarcastically before jerking his thumb towards the opposite end of the dock. "Just go stand over there." Shawn merely shrugged at the jab and did as he was told before the next boat arrived.

"And here is contestant number two," Chris announced with a smile. "Athletic heartbreaker and Shawn's fellow finalist, it's Sky!"

"Hey there Chris, is uh Dave here yet?" the gymnast nervously asked as she made her way down the dock. At hearing such a question, Chris's grin grew wider.

"Dave? Germophobe Dave?" he began to ask in a mocking voice. "The same Dave who you rejected multiple times on international TV in favor of one million dollars? _That_ Dave? Nope! Not here yet!"

Sky's shoulders slumped in sadness as she stood next to Shawn, her eyes cast downward the whole time. Shawn gave her a sympathetic pat on the back before glaring at Chris. "Man that was just not cool," he said.

"As if I worry about what you kids think," Chris replied. He then gestured to the latest boat to arrive. "Meanwhile, our next player just pulled up! Queen of the Outback, it's Jasmine!" Shawn quickly smiled at this as he saw his Australian girlfriend step onto the dock.

"Huh, gotta say that I'm impressed Chris," Jasmine said looking at Boney Island's mountains. "Might be smaller but this place looks like more of a challenge than Pahkitew."

"Oh I bet you won't be disappointed Jasmine," Chris said gleefully. "The fun hasn't even started yet!" The tone his voice was in slightly unnerved Jasmine, but such feelings were soon forgotten the second she saw her boyfriend running up to her. "Shawnie!"

The pair were quick to embrace each other which helped turn Sky's glum frown into a smile. "It's great to see that you two are still together. Even in spite of the distance."

"It ain't easy, I'll give you that," Jasmine said as she lifted Shawn up in the hug. "But it's more than worth it. All the guys back home are about as charming as crocs compared to Shawn." She put him down and then thought for a second. "Actually scratch that. That'd be insulting to the crocs."

"Aw thanks Jasmine," Shawn said warmly. "I can't tell you how much I missed you."

"Right back at ya mate," Jasmine replied. "But, are you sure you're gonna be alright here?" When she saw his confused expression, she gestured toward the skull-shaped cliff which caused his eyes to swiftly dilate.

"Zombie!" he shrieked right before passing out from the shock. As Jasmine and Sky both attempted to wake him up, Chris didn't even try to hide his laughter.

"Man I was waiting for that!" he exclaimed before wiping a tear from his eye. "I was honestly hoping for a little more of him spazzing out before fainting but hey, the day is still young!"

"What is this? Laughter at another's anguish? The poor fool must've seen me coming." Someone from behind Chris spoke up. Turning around to see who was talking, the host quickly frowned. "Oh great," he deadpanned. "Welcome back Max. How've you been?"

"Why I've been evil of course!" the self-proclaimed super villain shouted in a hammy fashion. "Chris McLean I must thank you, for all the suffering I was forced to endure has made me harder, crueler, even more-"

"Yawn!" Chris interjected, effectively cutting Max off. "Don't really care. But look! Here's someone who might; Scarlett!"

Hearing that name was more than enough for Max to crouch into a fetal position. "No! Not her!"

Jasmine and Sky look startled as well but when Scarlett did not appear, they turned to Chris who proceeded to snicker. "Kidding!" he joked. "Yeah, no way is that psychopath _ever_ coming back! Instead, here comes one of the very few normal people to be on Total Drama, or at least he used to be; Dave!"

Dave stepped onto the dock, looking anything but happy as he did so. Sky initially froze at the sight of him but as he made his way toward the end of the dock, she managed to work up the nerve to open her mouth. "Dave, I..."

Before she could say anymore, Dave held up his hand which caused her to go quiet. "Whatever it is you have to say, I don't wanna hear it," he told her coolly. "Why don't you go tell it to Keith or whatever his name is?" He then walked right past her, not even casting a glance to anyone else.

"Wow. Even I am not that sinister," Max, who was now back up on his feet, said breathlessly. Jasmine, still holding onto the unconscious Shawn, silently nodded while glowering in Dave's direction.

"So much drama with only five people here, I am loving this!" Chris noted before turning to see the next boat arrive. "And with a lot more still to come, let's welcome Amy and Samey!" The twins walked off their boat, the second one to disembark struggling to carry an incredibly large amount of luggage

"Ugh! Like, what the heck McLean?" Amy snapped with a sour look on her face. "It's bad enough having to come back to this uber-sucky show. Why does _she_ have to come back with me?!"

"Meh, what can I say?" Chris shrugged in response. "Without one there really isn't as much tension for the other." Amy childishly stomped her foot after hearing this.

"Samey! Take my stuff to the end of the dock, now!" she demanded to which her younger twin responded with a sad sigh.

Just as Sammy was about to comply with Amy's order, Jasmine stepped in front of her looking confused.

"Uh mate? Just what is all this?" she asked in a gentle voice. "I thought you were gonna stand up for yourself and quit letting Amy push you around."

Sammy opened her mouth to reply but before she could speak, Amy rudely shoved her from where she stood.

"I believe I said _'now'_ Samey!" she snapped. As her sister quickly walked away from her, she turned to face the Australian who was giving her a dirty look.

"I can see that you haven't changed Amy," Jasmine said ruefully to which the cheerleader merely smirked.

"Yeah, like no and neither has Samey," Amy sneered. "She might have thought she was growing a backbone, but back home without you around, she's remembered her place." And with that she smugly strutted away from Jasmine with her hands on her hips.

"Wow, you can just feel the love all over the place," Chris butted in before turning to see the next contestant. "In the meantime, here's the ultimate failure when it comes to such a subject; Rodney!"

"'Ultimate failure?'" the large country boy repeated in confusion. "What do you mean by that?" Before anyone could offer an answer, the sound of an old foghorn could be heard.

"And comes the last member of the Pahkitew Island cast to be brought back," Chris announced, happy to avoid the awkwardness that had come with Rodney's question. "The man of a thousand sounds, Beardo!"

"Wonderful, just wonderful," Dave muttered. "As if things weren't annoying already."

Beardo stepped off his boat and strutted down the dock with his things, mimicking the sound of applause as he did so. A few of his fellow campers smiled at this, even Sky was beginning to perk up. Others however (mainly Amy and Max), looked just as irritated as Dave.

"All right, all right Beardo, that's enough," Chris said looking a little peeved at the noise himself. "Don't push your luck. Just go stand by the others." The hairy teen ceased his strut and the sound and quickly obeyed.

"Hold on," Sammy spoke up. "There are only nine of us here. That can't be it, can it?"

"Oh puh-leeze!" Amy scoffed. "As if you would know Samey!"

"Actually, Samey is right," Chris piped up. "We have many more people who haven't gotten here yet. In fact, to ensure that this will be Total Drama's biggest season, there'll be a total of twenty-six of you kids from all three generations!"

"Twenty-six?" Sky asked startled. "There's never been that many players in a single game before!"

"Correctamundo!" Chris replied proudly. "And here's comes another one! From Revenge of the Island and All-Stars, brilliant bubble boy Cameron!"

"Greetings everyone!" he cheerily greeted the Pahkitew Island competitors. "I was hoping to meet some of you ever since I saw last season. Tell me, what were the robotic animals like?"

"I really wouldn't worry about them if I were you Cam," Chris informed him before any of the campers could answer his question. "There will be plenty of _real, live_ things here that you oughta be afraid of."

"Yeah, like sha-me!"

Cameron gulped in fear at the sound of the voice and turned around to see the latest contestant come; an irate looking jock with bleach white hair.

"Lightning everyone! Revenge of the Island's second place winner AKA first place loser!" Chris announced with a smile at Cameron's discomfort. The bubble boy tried a smile as the muscled young man approached him. "Oh, hello there L-Lightning. W-What've you been up to?" he stuttered out.

"Getting ready to sha-crush you twerp," Lightning growled as he towered over Cameron. "I let myself get distracted last time, but now I will get my revenge on you!"

Several of the other campers looked ready to intervene in the confrontation, but a new voice rose up that stopped Lightning from advancing any further.

"Even if you were to cause Cameron harm, that won't change anything between you and your father."

Lightning froze in place as Dawn suddenly appeared behind him with a stern expression. Strangely though, a boat had not come to drop her off.

The moonchild took advantage of the opportunity to step in between Lightning and Cameron.

"I'm truly sorry for the unkind way he regards you Lightning," Dawn said. "But that was never Cameron's fault. Don't take your aggression out on him."

Lightning stared at her incredulously but quickly remembered where he was and regained his composure. Rolling his eyes, he scoffed at her. "Psh! Whatever. Just keep outta the Lightning's way. You too shrimp."

As he stormed off, Chris couldn't help but laugh. "Man was that intense!" His smile then quickly became a light scowl. "But Dawn, that wasn't cool the way you came here before I could introduce you. How'd you even manage that? We had others scheduled to get here before you."

His words fell on deaf ears however as many of the campers began to gush and praise Dawn for her deed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Cameron exclaimed as he hugged Dawn in gratitude. "That was amazing!"

"You're welcome my friend, but it was really nothing," Dawn said modestly. "He really isn't too bad. His aura just needs a little...okay, a lot of picking."

"Oh em gee, so you really can see auras?" Sammy asked with wide eyes. With her sister now gawking at Lightning's figure, she had decided to slip away from holding up the bevy of her suitcases.

"I can," Dawn nodded. "And I have to say yours is a beautiful yellow-green." She then leaned closer towards Sammy and her brows furrowed. "But there is a tinge of dark brown. Something has you very worried."

"Wow," Sammy said in awe. Beardo nodded in agreement as he let out a whistle.

Dave however did not look as impressed. "Oh brother," he muttered. "This girl could give Leonard a run for his money. I'd ask what's next but I doubt I'd like the answer."

Dawn then approached Jasmine and Shawn, the latter still passed out from his scare. "Oh dear, that's no good," she said with concern before looking up at the (very, very much) taller girl. "May I?"

Jasmine shrugged as she gently handed Shawn over to her. As she took him onto her shoulder, Dawn pressed two fingers against his forehead and whispered something so quietly, no one could quite make it out.

Suddenly Shawn began to stir and finally opened his eyes as Dawn stood him up on his feet. "Aww man my head," he groaned. "Feels like I took a trigonometry _and_ chemistry test at the same time!"

He was then scooped up by his girlfriend. "You're okay!" she cheered and then looked down at the moonchild. "Thanks there Shortstuff!"

Dawn simply beamed in reply. Unfortunately, the kind moment was cut short as the latest arrival began to voice their opinion on it.

"Well ain't this a sweet sight?" Scott quipped sarcastically as he stepped off of his boat. "Almost as sweet as Mama's weasel-custard pie."

That remark, along with the schemer sniffing his armpit as he went to join the group, was more than enough to cause several people to gag, Chris included.

"Dude seriously," the host said, grossed out. "What backwater part of the country are you from?!"

"Psh! Even if I told you, I seriously doubt you or any of these losers for that matter could last a day Chris."

Now anyone who wasn't gagging was glaring at the dirt farmer. Fully aware of this, but not caring, he took his place only to be met with a face he wasn't too fond of.

"Wow Sharkbait, not even here a full thirty seconds and you're dissing everyone? Guess you miss your precious CIT, huh?"

Jo had just arrived with her duffel bag slung over her shoulder and decided not to waste any time in mocking Scott. He however, simply turned up his nose at the tomboy.

"Go get under someone else's skin _Friendly Fire_ ," he deadpanned, not having forgotten the leech incident.

"I keep saying you should've ducked," Jo shot back before shoving her way past him and then observing who else was present. " _This_ is supposed to be the competition this year? With the exception of the Amazon, I can't say that I'm impressed."

Many of the campers grew angry at such a statement, including Jasmine who didn't appreciate her height being brought up. However, only one actually said what was on everyone's minds.

"What gives you the right to talk to us that way?" Sky asked, anger at such rudeness having fully replaced her sadness. "Didn't you watch last season at all?"

"Uh no," Jo replied bluntly. "I've actually got a life, I don't need to waste it watching this sorry excuse for a show anymore."

Sky could only blink in confusion. "Then, why did you even bother to come back?"

"Contracts!" Chris interjected before pulling out a large stack of papers and waved it around patronizingly. "The ultimate weapon in the world of movies and television!" He then nonchalantly tossed them over his shoulder as if they were nothing, knowing he had a plethora of copies to spare.

"Now to continue. Our next contestant is none other than...*cough*...Hey!" The host had been cut off as a cloud of hairspray surrounded him, throwing him into a hacking fit. "Anne...*cough*...Maria! *cough* Knock it off already!"

The Jersey Shore Reject didn't appear to hear him as she continued to excessively spray her signature pouf as she strutted confidently down the dock.

"Hey, hey! How are y'all doin'?" she greeted after finally lowering the can. Now without anything blocking her vision, she had a clear view of her fellow competitors.

"Oh my. No style at all..." She appeared shocked at first, but quickly broke into a grin. "Oh dis is gonna be fun! I love a project!" She quickly ran up to Beardo, who she had deemed the least fashionable of all, brushing past everyone else.

"You'll be first," she said to the beatboxer, who suddenly looked quite nervous. She then grabbed some of his beard with one hand and part of his afro with the other. "These two disastas, gotta go like now."

Beardo backed away in fear and began releasing a sound reminiscent of a submarine alarm.

"What da heck is his problem?" Anne Maria asked, offended. "I'm offerin' him a free makeover!"

"I know you have the nicest of intentions Anne Maria, but you may wish to try a less assertive approach," Dawn offered kindly, placing a hand on the tanned girl's shoulder. "Beardo's afro and beard are very precious to him. Saying that you plan to get rid of them is like someone else saying that they wished to get rid of your hair."

"WHAT?!" Anne Maria shrieked. Without warning she grabbed Dawn and began to vigorously shake her. "Who said that?! Jo?! Scott?! They are so gettin' a beatdown!"

"A-hem!" Chris ostentatiously cleared his throat, redirecting everyone's attention back to him. "As humorous as that would be Anne Maria, we've only got so much time and the next boat's nearly here."

The moonchild sighed after the Snooki look-alike let her go. The sentiment had completely gone in one ear and out the other. She then gazed at her hand and was mildly disturbed at the amount of spray tan that now covered it.

"Moving on, here's one of Total Drama's most noble contestants," Chris announced. "And it was such a quality that left him getting shot out of a catapult; Brick!"

"Private Brick McArthur, reporting for another season of Total Drama sir!" the cadet declared marching onto the dock. Unfortunately, Brick's steps were a little too heavy for his own good as he hadn't moved but a few feet before smashing a hole into the dock.

"AAAAAAHHH!" Brick cried out in pain. While most of the teens looked concerned, others didn't even try to resist laughing at him along with Chris.

"Heh heh heh! That's always funny when it happens to someone else!" Scott smirked.

"Wow, do they like give out medals for being a total dope in military school?" Amy taunted.

"Listen to his pathetic whimpers!" Max joined in.

"First challenge hasn't even started yet and you've already gotten yourself stuck in the dock," Jo chuckled wiping away a tear. "You haven't changed a bit Maggot."

Though he was still in pain, Brick did not let their words get him down. "With all due respect ma'am, I am not stuck," he said with his head held high. He then made an attempt to pull his foot out of the hole. And then another. And another after that. His foot wouldn't budge at all.

"Okay, I am stuck," he admitted in defeat. This only caused those making fun of him to laugh even louder, much to the others' disgust. Luckily, the newest arrival was more than willing to lend the poor man a hand.

B, as relaxed and quiet as ever, had seen Brick's plight and was already going through his luggage to find just the right thing to solve the problem. After taking out and putting aside a wrench, a pocketknife, multiple Phillips _and_ flat-head screwdrivers of varying sizes, he finally found what he was looking for; a bottle of motor oil.

The silent genius poured some of the oil onto Brick's boot, wrapped his arms around him and in a quick and fluid motion, lifted him free of the hole, much to the cadet's relief.

"Much obliged solider," Brick thanked him with a salute. B in return pounded his chest with his fist before shooting Brick a finger pistol.

"Oh please," Scott sneered. "As if anyone couldn't have done that, _Beverly_." Hearing his real name caused B's smile to turn into a frown. The big fella had _not_ been looking forward to hearing that _or_ seeing his rival again.

"Then why didn't you?" Dawn asked, coming to her friend's aid. She ignored Scott's following glare in her direction to reunite with B.

"Nice one B!" Chris praised. "But you know, a lot of the fan letters had questions about whether or not you can talk or not. How about giving those at home a couple words now, in honor of the first episode?"

B rubbed his chin in thought, gave a shrug and then opened his mouth.

"Yah, my great-great-great Uncle Roger invented letters! Before him, people could only scream messages really loudly to each other!"

B quickly cast an annoyed look at the compulsive liar who had cut him off. Staci had just gotten to Boney Island, and wasn't wasting any time in beginning one of her tall tales.

He wasn't the only one irritated. Several other campers had covered their ears the minute they saw Staci who with her back turned to Chris, was completely oblivious to what he was about to do.

"And my great-great grandma Doris invented-" she rambled before being cut off by the resounding blast from an air horn that had been brought out by the host, who was now conveniently wearing a pair of earmuffs.

"Ow! Why did you do that?" Staci yelled.

"Figured I'd nip that in the bud right here," Chris explained after taking the earmuffs off and tossing the horn aside. "For it isn't story time Staci. Now that you're here, it _is_ time for the players from our very first cast to begin making their grand entrances!"

"What?" Staci asked holding a hand up to the ear that had gotten the brunt of the horn's noise.

"Hush now," Chris said holding up an index finger in front of the chatterbox's mouth. "Because here comes one of the very few people I know who can talk almost as much as you; a girl who's dedicated her life to learning anything and everything about Total Drama's contestants, in spite of how incredibly creepy it is, Sierra!"

Cameron began to nervously twitch at the mention of the uber-fan's name and quickly ducked behind B, who didn't appear to mind.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Oh my gosh! I'm back!" Sierra's squealed, her voice so shrill that it was hard for those closest to her not to cringe. "And this season takes place completely at Boney Island? I just _have_ to snap some pics for my blogs!"

She quickly brought out a smartphone, only for the host (who had temporarily put his earmuffs back on) to quickly snatch it up.

"Ah-ah-ah Sierra," Chris scolded. "You of all people oughta know the rule on gadgets that can be used to communicate with the outside world." Sierra looked like a puppy that just had its favorite chew toy taken away.

"Chris please! I need that!" she begged, almost immediately on her knees and at his feet. "My readers, your fans, need to know what goes on this season!" The host didn't appear sympathetic in the least.

"Then they can wait for the season to actually air," he replied. "But thanks for the phone, I can always use another one."

"But, but, but," Sierra started to tear up. "Do you have any idea how many pictures of Cody I have on that?"

Chris began pressing a button on the phone several times. "Yeah, I'll be deleting those. Now the pictures of _me,_ those I'll save." He paused and then saw just how upset Sierra was getting.

"Aw come on now," he groaned, pinching his brow. He then decided to quell her behavior before it could get worse (and knowing Sierra, it totally could). "Let's not do this. Look, the real Cody will be here soon enough. Will knowing that calm you down, and not do anything that'll bring damage to my dock? Seriously, it's already got a hole in it thanks to Brick."

"Cody?" Sierra immediately sprung up on her feet, her mood going through a complete turnabout. "He's here this season?! EEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She then embraced the host in what certainly sounded like a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Personal space! Personal space! You are invading mine! Let go!" Chris shouted. The obsessive girl obeyed and went to join the rest of the group, many of whom didn't know what to think or say about what they just saw. The sole exception was Cameron, who was mentally begging B not to move and allow Sierra to see him.

The host took a moment to brush himself off. "Okay, putting that little debacle in the past and keeping it there, let's move on. She's dark, she's grumpy, and probably someone who will never stop hating me, heh! It's Gwen!"

Said goth girl stepped onto the dock and did not share any of Chris's enthusiasm. "I am not in the mood McLean," she warned.

"Why ever not?" Chris asked, faking innocence. "I mean, just because this is the show where you've been injured, betrayed, and gone through _two_ messy breakups, I see no reason for you to be just a smidge-" he was cut off when Gwen held up a picture in front of his eyes. "Oh my sweet boxers, what in the heck is that?!"

"This is a jerk that had been bullying my little brother while I was gone," Gwen explained before tucking the photo away into her skirt pocket. "So my friend Marilyn and I decided to shave his head and paint it yellow. Keep pressing my buttons and the same can be easily be done to you, got it?"

"You can't do that!" The host protested. "There is a clause in all of your contracts; any bodily harm that comes to any part of me, my hair especially, results in the immediate elimination to whoever caused it!"

The goth girl shrugged uncaringly. "All the more reason for me to do it."

Chris swallowed a lump in his throat and backed away from her nervously. "G-Got it. I'll b-be leaving you alone now."

Gwen smirked. "Glad to see that we understand each other," she said before joining the others. Brushing past Sierra, she gave a small smile when she saw her friend Cameron in his hiding spot. He smiled to her in return, but also held a finger up to lips as to signal her to not say anything. Gwen playfully rolled her eyes but made a motion of zipping her lips.

"Had I known _that_ was going to happen, I would've had Chef out here for protection," Chris muttered. "Time to brighten up the mood with one of the more cheery competitors, Lindsay!"

The blonde beauty came walking down the dock with a radiant smile, unknowingly catching the eyes of several of the male campers. "Hi there Chip!" she said waving her fingers. "It is like _so_ nice to see you again!"

"Why thank you Lindsay," Chris replied. "Nice to hear _someone_ finally say that. But the name's Chris."

Lindsay blinked in confusion. "Chris? Are you sure?" she asked. Her eyes then widened in realization. "Oh I get it! You're trying to mess with me, aren't you? And before the first challenge even starts? That is so mean!"

She then left the bewildered host to join her fellow players, many of whom could only stare.

"Uh Lindsay," Sammy decided to be the one to speak up. "I um, I don't think he was trying anything. His name really is Chris."

"Oh I know," Lindsay leaned closer to whisper in the good twin's ear. "I just thought it'd be fun to trick him for a change! And it totally was!"

Sammy and a few others who were listening in on this began to snicker in spite of themselves, silently impressed with Lindsay's surprising cleverness. This laughter could be faintly heard by the host. "Teenagers," he said pinching the bridge of his nose. "All right, who's supposed to be next again?"

His question was quickly answered by the sounds of rock music booming in the distance. Everyone turned to see that on the newest boat coming was not one, but two contestants, Trent and Cody, who were respectively shredding on a guitar and bass as if there fingers were on fire.

Captivated by the song they were being treated to, several of the teens began to cheer and bob their heads in excitement. Even Chris was delighted at the sight, but no one was happier than Sierra.

"Codykins!" she happily shrieked while clapping at a frenzied pace. "That's my sweet Codykins!"

When the boat finally reached the dock, Trent and Cody with their packs on their backs, leapt off the bow and fell to their knees before the former played one final lick. Their newfound audience erupted into an uproar of applause and whistles causing the duo to exchange a grin and a fist bump before standing up. "Good to see that we've still got it," Trent remarked.

"As if there was ever any dou-" Cody began to say but was quickly cut off as his number one fan wrapped her arms around him and started to squeeze.

"Oh sweet Cody how I've missed you!" Sierra cooed, utterly oblivious to his discomfort which was obvious to pretty much everyone else. (Yes, that includes even Lindsay.) "Why haven't you been answering my calls? Or my texts and emails? I even sent you a carrier pigeon but you didn't reply back!"

"Sorry Sierra," Cody managed to choke out. The fact his face was beginning to change color was an indication of just how tightly the girl was hugging him. "I've been pretty busy for the last couple of weeks, what with the Drama Brothers breaking up."

The super fan's eyes widened in horror as she dropped him, allowing him the chance to take several deep breaths of air.

"WHAT?!" she yelled. "The Drama Brothers, breaking up?! That can't be true! It just _can't_ be!"

Trent took advantage of the opportunity to step in between the two so to prevent her from ensnaring his friend a second time. "Sorry Sierra but it is true," he said. "The band is done, for good this time. Harold and Justin wanted different things so we decided to respect their wishes." He could see her lip quiver and could sense another outburst was only imminent. He took off his backpack and began to dig through it.

"But, I can offer you a little piece of consolation," he said before pulling out a CD. "The very last Drama Brothers album, the one that was recorded while we were on our European tour."

Sierra's jaw went slack as she stared at it. "Is that the one where Cody sings lead completely in Swedish?" she asked awestruck. The cool guy nodded. "Track number five," he replied.

"Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

The super fan immediately attempted to swipe it out of his hand but he was able to back away and keep it away from her before she could reach it.

"Whoa! Hold on now," he said sternly. "I never said I would just give it to you. If you really want it, then there's something you're going to have to do to earn it."

Sierra clutched her hands tightly in front of her chest and stood closer to him, towering over him. "What is it?" she asked. "I'll do anything to have it! Anything!"

"Promise to leave Cody alone for the rest of the day and it's yours," Trent replied without missing a beat. Sierra looked shocked for a moment, but then began to chuckle, albeit with one of her eyes twitching.

"Oh Trent you kidder," she said forcing herself to keep an upbeat tone. "You know I couldn't possibly do that! We've only just been reunited! Now really, what can I do to have the CD?"

"I'm not kidding Sierra," the guitarist replied calmly. "He and I just got here and you've already hugged him so hard he can barely stand up!" To prove his point he motioned downward towards Cody, the geek shaking every time he inhaled. Sierra however didn't seem to see any problem as she made to embrace him once more only for Trent to step in a second time. "But to prove how serious I am, I'll sweeten the deal. I'll also throw in my CD player and a pair of Cody's old headphones."

Sierra's face lit up like a Christmas tree after hearing this. "Headphones that used to be on Cody's ears?" she gasped. "It's a deal!"

She and Trent shook on it before the musician dug out the player and the phones out of the boy's luggage. "He's got more than one pair so he won't really mind, right Cody buddy?" By this point the geek had managed to get back up on his feet and tentatively gave a thumbs up while hiding behind his friend.

"Now head to the end of the dock and I'll toss them to you," Trent instructed. The obsessive girl eagerly nodded and blew Cody a kiss (which he didn't hesitate in dodging) before barreling through the rest of the group to go where she was told. True to his word Trent held the CD as if it were a Frisbee and threw it in her direction.

"Ow!"

Unfortunately his aim was a little off as it ended up hitting her in the eye, the force being strong enough to knock her backward into the lake.

"Oops," Trent said with a cringe. "Sorry about that!" Cody then came out from behind him and let out a relieved sigh.

"That was close," he remarked. "A few more seconds and I just know she would've broken my ribs. Thanks big bro." Trent smiled down at him and gave him a gentle nudge with his elbow. "Anytime little bro."

"Impressive negotiating. I must say I wouldn't have expected that from you Trent."

The new voice from behind them caused both boys to jump slightly before they turned to see Courtney now on the dock with them. Trent sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "What can I say? This isn't the first time we've had to convince Sierra to give Cody some space."

"I see," Courtney said. Peering past the large crowd to where the super fan had fallen, seeing that in spite of the rest of her body being submerged, she made sure to keep the CD aloft and dry. "But are you really sure that it's smart to trust her to hold her end of the bargain?"

"Whoever said we trusted her?" Trent asked rhetorically. "That was really just to give Cody enough time to find a place to hide from her. Which reminds me..." He turned to see that the geek had already disappeared from his side. He and Courtney looked around before spotting a hand waving at them from behind Beardo's afro.

"I'm way ahead of you buddy," he called out. "Sorry ladies, but the Code-meister's gotta go incognito for a little while!"

Courtney couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. "Somehow I think they'll manage," she deadpanned. "You know he really should just be up front with her on how much she bothers him," she said to Trent, who knowingly nodded. She began to walk down the dock ahead of him and was soon greeted by a stare cold enough to freeze a sun. "Oh, hello Gwen. It's, it's nice to see you again."

The goth girl merely crossed her arms and scowled at the CIT. "Funny how _you_ of all people would start the season off speaking about trust and being up front with people," she said with great disdain.

Instead of replying with a haughty remark or losing her temper as one might expect, Courtney cast a remorseful look. "Right," she said quietly. "I was wondering if I could talk to you later today?" Gwen held up a hand and turned away from her. "Save it," she replied. "You already fooled me once, I am _not_ giving you the chance to fool me twice."

"Hey, hey, hey easy now," Trent interjected, taking both girls (particularly the goth) by surprise. "It's only the first day, let's not add any more drama than necessary. Isn't that what Chris is for?"

"Too true music man," the host noted with pride. "And with only two kids left to come, a _massive_ amount of said drama is sure to get underway soon!"

The penultimate boat came with a very excited Tyler on board. "Aw yeah baby!" the jock exclaimed while pumping his fists in the air. "The T-man's here, and things are about to get extreme!"

He proceeded to somersault off of the railing but made the mistake of spreading out his legs during his descent, causing him to land right on his crotch.

"Ooh! I totally saw that coming and it _still_ hurts to see it!" Chris cringed. Every other male on the deck felt the same way, covering their lower bodies and looking at the jock sympathetically.

"Mommy..." Tyler squeaked out before falling over. Trent and Brick were quick to rush to his side and hoist him back onto his feet, the latter wrapping his arm over his shoulder for support.

"Easy there friend," Brick advised. "Just take it one little step at a time."

"Bro you might wanna dial it back on the stunts this time," Trent said. "There's no shame in slowing down."

Tyler, who was fighting back tears, weakly held up a fist. "No way man," he replied, his voice still at a high pitch. "You know what they say, go big or go home, and I do not wanna go home early this time!"

"I can appreciate such a gung-ho attitude Tyler," Brick said respectfully. "But Trent is right. At least make sure to be sporting a cup from now on."

When they reached the others, the jock had recovered enough to walk on his own. "I uh, actually did have one," he admitted, his voice beginning to deepen to its original octave. "But I didn't put it on because I didn't think I'd need it so soon."

"And here I thought Lightning was stupid," Jo said.

Tyler glared at the tomboy for such belligerence and needed Brick and Trent to restrain him from confronting her. Nobody was going to stop the other boy she insulted though.

"At least he and I actually look our gender Man Lady!" Lightning shouted, getting in Jo's face.

As the two aggressive athletes began to exchange obscenities, Tyler was soon face to face with a much bigger problem.

"L-Lindsay, h-hey there," he stammered weakly. "L-Long time no see."

Much to the surprise of everyone Lindsay, well known for being incessantly bubbly, without warning burst into tears and ran into the arms of the person nearest to her, Sammy.

"What is it? What's wrong?" the confused cheerleader asked. Lindsay lifted her head up, her makeup now beginning to run, tried to speak but saw Tyler and began sobbing once more. The shocked teenagers gazed toward the dock who could only look down in shame.

"We broke up," he said in a quiet voice. "After Total Drama All-Stars." No longer feeling too confident or keen, he shifted uncomfortably which was a signal to Brick to let him stand on his own. "I'd, rather not talk about it."

"What?! How could you not talk about it?! This is a travesty!"

The jock flinched as a dripping wet Sierra made her way back onto the dock, her expression a combination of despair and curiosity.

"Everyone who follows my Lyler blog will be in an uproar!" she exclaimed approaching Tyler, who was growing more and more uneasy. His newly revealed ex-girlfriend crying even harder into Sammy's shoulder wasn't helping matters.

"When did it happen? Who dumped who? Have either of you been seeing anyone else since?" Sierra had gotten a notepad and pen out by this point and was pressing Tyler with more and more questions, none of which he wanted to answer. Luckily, the last person to arrive would put a stop to her prying.

"I've got a question; how many times would I need to punch you in the mouth to get you to shut up?" Eva asked crossly. Sierra was startled and turned to see the muscled young woman standing behind her, looking impatient and annoyed.

"But I can't shut up!" the super fan protested. "Don't you understand the severity of the situation?! Lyler was the first official hookup in Total Drama history!"

"I can understand," Eva said. "I just don't care. All I care about is you standing in my way and your squawking hurting my ears!" She grabbed Sierra's necklace and yanked it to pull her close, balling her empty hand into a fist. "Now shut up and move or you'll play this season with a toothless mouth, got it?"

Sierra was by no means a weak person but she was well aware that her strength was easily dwarfed by Eva's. She immediately shut her mouth and nodded to show that she understood. Satisfied, Eva let her go and took a deep breath.

"Much better," she said cracking a small smile. As she took her place, those around her made sure they weren't too close, not wanting to receive a similar threat.

"Eva's calm now right? She's not about to cause someone major body damage?"

The contestants could hear the voice of their host but none could actually see him. Chris had apparently vanished right before Eva had arrived. The tough girl rolled her eyes before calling out, "Yeah, I'm good McLean!"

Chris then peeked out from behind Rodney, the only large-framed male camper who hadn't had anyone hiding behind him until that moment. Several of the teens sent him unimpressed looks when he began to walk back to the front of the dock, which he took in stride.

"Hey, if Gwen was gonna threaten me right off the bat, then I wouldn't dare take the chance with Eva."

Chris then turned to face all twenty-six teenagers. "Now that everyone's finally here, why don't we commemorate such a momentous occasion?" He pulled a camera out of his back pocket. "Picture time!" Had the daggers everyone glared at him been real, Chris would've had an incredibly gruesome death. "...What?"

"Seriously Chris, just how gullible do you think we are?" Courtney asked crossing her arms. "That's the same trick you pulled back in the first episode!"

"Back when life first began," Sierra whispered misty-eyed. Nearly everyone became disturbed at such creepy words, backing away from her as much as they could.

"R-Right. Anyway, you're sure to have a bomb planted on the dock this time and were just waiting to blow us up!" Courtney continued.

Dave scoffed. "We'll be lucky if it's _just_ one. Who's to say he doesn't have at least a dozen down there?"

As some of the others began to murmur in agreement, Chris's grin drooped. "So...no one's for the photo then?"

"NO!"

The host rolled his eyes and groaned. "Fine, fine, you got me," he scowled. "Just go on and meet at the new Boney Island bonfire pit to hear how this season's gonna go down, you buncha killjoys!"

The teens picked up their belongings and one by one made stepped off of the dock and onto the actual island. Unbeknownst to them, the host was actually now wearing a bigger and much more evil grin than before.

"You think those kids would've learned by now," he looked down at his wristwatch to check the time. "As if I would really do something so blasé." He held up three fingers and began a silent countdown before multiple explosions followed by several screams of pain were heard off-screen.

"Landmines," he explained to the camera. "I just love my job."

"CHRIS!"

"And now would be a good time for me to hide in Chef's kitchen while they cool off," he said before ducking out of the camera's view.

* * *

A brief time later after everyone had picked themselves up and recollected any possessions that had fallen out of their luggage during the explosions, all twenty-six teenagers were sitting on tree stumps and small logs while the host stood behind an oil drum. He wasn't alone however. Now he was accompanied by a burly, angry looking man that the competitors were all too familiar with; Chef Hatchet.

"Glad to see you maggots enjoyed out little surprise," the cook remarked. "I personally picked them out, heh heh heh!"

The host added his own sadistic chuckle as he and Chef shared a high five.

"As you can see, the big guy and I are really raring to go with the torment that'll come very, very soon this season," Chris said with a smirk. "But first there are some things that need to be brought to light. First off, those of you who competed in Pahkitew Island will be happy to know that there will be proper accommodations for you kids."

Several campers, particularly Dave, looked relieved by this. Unfortunately, Chris wasn't done.

"Yep! Cabins that have been flown in from a different camp from the mainland! One that's been closed since _1953_. That means they're very likely to have even more rats and roaches skulking around inside than our old Wawanawkwa cabins did."

Nearly everyone looked disgusted at such a revelation.

"Once again ladies and gentlemen Chris McLean shows us his great generosity," Gwen snarked.

"Why did I let myself think that he was actually going to act humanely toward us?" Dave complained. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Sky looking at him.

"Well, it's still going to be better than sleeping on rocks in a cave right?" she attempted to console him. Dave however stood up and went to another stump and made sure that his back was to her when he sat down, much to the gymnast's sorrow.

The only two campers who didn't appear bothered by the information were Jasmine and Shawn who hardly ever slept indoors anyway.

"Makes sleeping up on a tree branch seem even better, huh?" the Australian asked her boyfriend.

"Totally," Shawn agreed. "I'd still be careful though. If those cabins really are over sixty years old, who knows what could creep out from under the floorboards during the day."

"Yo Chris!" Anne Maria spoke up. "Where are dese cabins anyway? Even if they are cruddy, I gotta make sure all my haircare products are safe."

"Now that's a sentiment I can agree with Anne Maria," Chris replied. "The cabins are located on the other side of the island. Reaching them will be one of your goals during the first challenge. Not to worry though, our newest batch of slaves," he briefly cleared his throat, "I mean _interns_ will cart your stuff over there while you're competing. Whether or not they'll actually be careful, well you can ask someone who cares, i.e. not me."

"Hold on," Courtney said. "We're beginning the first challenge now? What about the teams?"

"That's the other goal of the challenge," Chris replied. "Well, somewhat." He continued after seeing many confused faces. "This challenge will have not one, but two winners who will serve as the team captains up until we hit the merge. They get to choose their teams before the second challenge in three days."

Brick had his hand up. "Does this mean that there won't be an elimination ceremony tonight?" he asked.

"You are correct cadet!" the host said shooting Brick a finger pistol. As everyone began to smile, he started to wag his finger at them. "However, I wouldn't get used to it if I were you. After today, eliminations will be held after _every_ challenge."

Smiles were now replaced with worried grimaces to which Chris cackled. "Now any other questions before we get started?"

"Just what responsibilities come with being a captain?" Courtney asked.

Chris grinned. "Not surprising that you'd be the one most interested in finding out," he said. "Obviously the captains call the shots during challenges though I cannot guarantee that they'll always be listened to. In fact, I hope they aren't! Rebellion makes for some excellent conflict!"

He was then given a s'more on a plate. "For the captain of a losing team, a very hefty task comes with this little treat here; the Immunity S'more," he explained. "Before voting can begin, the captain must choose one team member to receive the S'more. Whoever's chosen is automatically safe from elimination."

Several hungry eyes began to gaze longingly at the s'more. "However I must stress," Chris continued. "A captain cannot keep the S'more for themselves. That being said, if whoever does get chosen to have it can get all of their teammates to agree, the S'more can be given back and the captain will have invincibility."

As the teens began to murmur amongst themselves over the rules of leadership, the host held up a hand to signal them to quiet down.

"Let's not have any of that," he said. "If you really wanna blab, you can do it in our old confessional outhouse, brought all the way back from Pahkitew Island."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cody - "Talk about intense! A captain will have twelve teammates and only one can be safe? That's gotta be the easiest way to make eleven enemies.

Courtney - "Naturally I was already planning to take on the role of leader, but now I _have_ to make sure I win the first challenge! Allowing them to be immune might help me show Gwen and Scott how sorry I am!

Jo - "This is too perfect. Letting whichever saps I'm _sure_ to be leading think I'll give them invincibility will ensure that I get a hundred and twenty percent performance from everybody during a challenge."

* * *

"So just what is the first challenge Chris?" Trent asked.

The host began to chuckle again, only much more darkly which soon made the musician regret his question. Chris directed their eyes over to a path leading into the forest.

"It's quite simple really," the host began. "Since we're back out in the woods, I feel it'd be best to test your survival skills. Your challenge is to race through the forest using the same type of traps hunters use to catch their quarry; pits, snares, you name it, it's in there just waiting for ya!"

"That's horrible!" Dawn gasped. "What if some of the actual animals have already fallen victim to them?"

Chris held up his hands. "Relax flower child," he said. "The animals were all put into cages before any of the traps were set."

"Cages?!" Dawn repeated in horror. "That's even worse!"

"Would you let me finish?" Chris griped. "Once a camper has fallen into a trap, one by one the cages will be opened via remote control." He then grinned evilly before listing them. "In addition to the woolly beavers and Stymphalian Canadian Geese, there will be bears, wolves, moose, wild boars, mountain goats, alligators, and ducks and bunnies coming after you kiddos. While they might not all be carnivorous, they are all extremely territorial and agitated from being locked up."

Some of the campers looked anxious at the prospect of being not only trapped but also attacked by wild animals while others looked confused as to why Chris included ducks and bunnies in such a list, the rest just listened to what else there was to know.

"The main objective is not to avoid the traps or the animals," Chris continued. "It's actually to avoid Chef, who was more than happy to reprise his role of 'Dork Hunter'."

He motioned over to Chef Hatchet who was now brandishing a large bazooka-like weapon. "You little pests can try all you like, but you won't see or hear me comin' till it's too late," he said. "One little shot from my spaghetti launcher and _ka-blam!_ " He fired an enormous meatball as a demonstration, which ended up hitting Brick in the face. "You are out of the game!"

"AAAAHHH! So hot!" Brick shouted, much to the host's delight.

"Ha ha ha! Classic Chef!" he exclaimed gleefully. "But that isn't all! You keeners won't be just Chef's prey this challenge, you'll also be hunting two cameo contestants!"

Several surprised gasps could be heard, to which the host found much satisfaction. This proved that he was still more than capable of keeping the teenagers on their toes.

"That's right! Back during Revenge of the Island, the fans loved the cameos so much that I decided to bring that factor back this season! Whoever can capture one of these two, who I will say are some of Total Drama's wildest, will be rewarded with the position of team captain!"

Suddenly a loud whirring noise could be heard from above. Everyone looked to see a helicopter hovering over the island with two figures standing by its open door. Both jumped out and quickly deployed their parachutes to land safely before the campers. When it could be seen who they were, not many were happy.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Jo yelled in protest. "Of all people, you brought _her_ back?"

"Oh no!" Cameron whined. "Why does _he_ have to be here?"

"Well, **/censored/** ," Gwen cursed.

The host swiftly stood in front of the camera to effectively conceal the identities of the cameo contestants from the audience.

"Just who are so many of the campers unhappy to see?" he began to announce. "Will they even be able to survive five minutes in the forest before they even think about hunting them? And who will embarrass themselves the most before the first day is over? Find out when we return, on Total! Drama! Once Again!"

* * *

 **To Be Continued...**

This is much later than I originally planned but unfortunately life has a bad habit of getting in the way of doing what you enjoy. Allow me a moment to thank all of those who inspired me into writing this.

The Kobold Necromancer

Lord Akiyama

Animation Adventures

Fangren

chrisATD1

StarryOak

DeliriousDisposition

But the biggest thanks, has to go to my friend, an amazing writer and one of the most patient people I've ever had the privilege of knowing, Light of the Dawn. I cannot thank you for all your help with this my dear lady.

Now to begin, yes Tyler and Lindsay are no longer a couple. Not just here. It was confirmed by Tom McGillis that the pair broke up so if you don't believe me, look it up and you'll see for yourself. Originally I was going to keep them together but then I realized there was more potential for drama and character development for both of them by having them broken up here too.

Here is a cast list, just to be safe:

Cody, the Geek

Gwen, the Loner

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess

Trent, the Cool Musician

Courtney, the Type A

Eva, the Female Bully

Tyler, the Jock

Sierra, the Obsessed Uber-Fan

Anne Maria, the Jersey Shore Reject

Brick, the Cadet

Cameron, the Wide-Eyed Bubble Boy

Jo, the "Take No Prisoners" Jock-ette

B, the Strong, Silent Genius

Dawn, the Moonchild

Lightning, the Athletic Overachiever

Scott, the Troublemaker

Staci, the Compulsive Liar

Amy, the Evil Cheerleader Twin

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist

Max, the Super-Villain

Rodney, the Country Boy

Sammy, the Good Cheerleader Twin

Beardo, the Human Soundboard

Dave, the Normal Guy

Shawn, the Zombie Conspiracy Nut

and Sky, the Athlete

Every other Total Drama contestant will get a cameo or at least a mention. You can also expect quite a few references to competitors from the Ridonculous Race as well. Now of these twenty six there is but one couple, Jasmine and Shawn which leaves many options for new couples to be born. Feel free to suggest however many as you want but please keep in mind, I'll only consider suggestions that have good reasoning behind them. Tell me in detail why two certain characters would be good together I'll be sure to add it into my notes.

Besides couples, feel free to suggest conflicts, friendships, or rivalries too. Though I should say that the protagonist, the deuteragonist, the antagonist, and those who choose to follow the antagonist have already been decided.

I've pretty much got every challenge before the merge figured out but I'm more than willing to take in suggestions for those too should have any they're willing to offer.

Above all, please tell me what you liked and what you disliked about this first chapter. Tell me how I can make this story better, a more enjoyable read for all those kind enough to look at it.

I'll try to get started on the next chapter as soon as I can, but as to when it will be finished...I'm not sure to be honest. I'll do my best to make it soon though.

See everyone next time and please review! I crave reviews as much as Owen craves doughnuts.


	2. Episode 1, Part 2

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Before anything I would like to graciously thank everyone who reviewed, followed, and added this story to their favorites list. To say that I was surprised at just how many is a gross understatement. Now it is my hope that you all will like this chapter even more, which may just happen considering a lot of action will be going down.

I believe I have all the pairings figured out, a special thanks to The Prime Writer for giving me not one but two great ideas for couples that will be featured. What they will be however, I won't be saying right now.

I'm surprised not too many people guessed which two campers they expected to win the challenge or who the antagonist will be. The former will be found out before this chapter's over but the latter won't be explicitly known to the audience until a few more chapters down the line so here's a hint: The antagonist is someone who has only been in one season of Total Drama. That makes for a total of fifteen possibilities, major kudos to anyone who can figure out who that person will be.

But that's enough of such matters for now, it's time to get rolling on to Part 2 of the first episode!

* * *

 _ **Episode 1: Reunited And It Doesn't Feel So Good, Part 2**_

"And we're back with our first challenge of the new season!" Chris announced after some time had passed. The host was still standing directly in front of the camera so as to prevent the audience from seeing who out of the contestants that had been excluded from competing were instead appearing as cameos.

"Why is that you always say that?" Jasmine asked. "It's not like anyone went anywhere."

"What? Don't they have television _down unda_?" the host asked in reply, perfectly marring an Australian accent as he finished. This caused the survivalist to glower down toward him.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Jasmine - "What kinda question is that? Of course we have television in Australia! What does Chris think, that I grew up in some third world country that's just recently being introduced to technology? I only asked because I'm not too savvy when it comes to editing. I spent most of my childhood outside, unlike him I'm sure."

* * *

"In any case, here are today's special guests!" the host announced stepping to the side. "Maniacal mistress Izzy and recently released Duncan!"

Izzy looked to be ecstatic at being introduced, literally bouncing on her toes and clapping her hands while cackling to herself. Duncan on the other hand, the opposite. He appeared very haggard, sporting gruesome bags underneath his eyes. A handful of contestants noticed that around his left ankle, there was a metal band with a blinking blue light on it.

"Go jump in a lake McLean," he said grouchily.

"Not a bad idea Jailbird," Jo spoke up. "But what're you even doing here? Weren't you thrown back in the slammer after they got us down and out of those rank balloons?"

Anne Maria had walked up to the felon to get a closer look at his accessory. "And what's up wit dis freaky-lookin' anklet?" she asked. "If you're tryin' to make a statement, this ain't the kinda thing _I'd_ use to make it."

"I believe I can explain," Chris said right as Duncan opened his mouth. He nonchalantly leaned on the boy's shoulder and ignored the dark look that was being cast his way. "During my vacation I realized that this guy right here can cause all sorts of drama, whether he's competing or not. So, I struck a little deal with his parole board; he does some 'community service' for me and I'll forgive him for blowing up my summer cottage."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "How many times must I say it? _*Through gritted teeth.*_ It. Was. A. MANSION!

* * *

Chris had now pulled out a remote control that had a light on it similar to Duncan's anklet. "After what happened the last time he was on the show however, I decided to take a few precautions," he continued. "As long as the little lights on Duncan's accessory and this remote are blue, I know that he's being a good boy like he was told."

The patronizing tone the host was using was too much for Duncan to stand. The punk elbowed him in the stomach, knocking him off of his shoulder and then shoved him to the ground before he could recover.

"Yeah, as _pleasant_ as it is to be around ya Chris," he said. "I'd much rather be back in the slammer. Later losers!" With that he tore off towards the beach. Chris didn't appeared perturbed though. In fact, he looked rather amused in spite of what just happened. He calmly picked himself, faced the campers and went on with what he was saying.

"As you all can see, the light on the remote has just changed color," he held up the device so that everyone could get a good look. Sure enough, the small bulb was now furiously flashing red akin to the lights seen on firetrucks and ambulances. "And even if we can't see it, Duncan's light is doing the same thing. The red is to serve as a signal to me that Duncan is doing something he was explicitly told not to do; harm me or any of my belongings and abandon his duty. This means that I get to do this!"

He pressed a button on the remote and in less than a second screams of pain could be heard in the distance. Everyone followed the sound and soon came upon Duncan on the ground spread eagle and slightly twitching. Dazedly the criminal stood up and shook his head to regain his composure. One look at Chris and he was angry again.

"You are gonna regret that McLean!" he snarled with a fist raised. He took a step forward but when he saw Chris's finger only just above the button, he stopped cold. When he stepped back and crossed his arms behind his back in defeat, the red lights on the remote and his anklet returned to their original blue.

"That's a good little delinquent," Chris said condescendingly. He then turned to face the contestants. "To ensure that Duncan only causes the kind of trouble I want him to cause, I can deliver an itsy, bitsy, incredibly painful electric shock to him whenever I want. It's just my way of helping the poor kid with his rehabilitation."

Duncan could be seen silently seething behind the host but otherwise did nothing, now that he knew what were to happen if he attempted to rebel a second time.

"Now then, on with the challenge!" Chris announced. "Like I said before, all you need to do in order to win is to avoid Chef's meatball blasts and capture either Duncan or Izzy! It's that simple!"

Sammy tentatively raised her hand which Chris acknowledged. "Is something wrong Samey?" Ignoring that he again referred to her by the name she despised, the nice twin asked, "Just where is Izzy?"

"Izzy is here!" the crazy girl happily proclaimed from on top of Rodney's shoulders. "Izzy was looking for the cannon and the catapult! Chrissy promised me a ride on both in exchange for doing the cameo!"

"You actually want to be shot out of a cannon?" Gwen asked in disbelief, to which Izzy bobbed her head in reply. "And the catapult dear Gwen! One must never forget that catapult! It is the cannon's great uncle after all."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Dave - "Is it a rule that every cast needs to have at least one token psycho? I'm afraid of what might happen to me if I get too close to that girl."

Tyler - "To be launched from two ballistic weapons in the same day? _*He gives an impressed whistle.*_ Man, Izzy's more than twice the daredevil I am!"

* * *

Chris groaned in exasperation. "Izzy I assure you neither the Cannon of Shame nor the Hurl of Shame are anywhere on Rodney."

Izzy pouted. "For really reals really?" She then seemed confused for a moment. "Wait. Rodney? You mean I'm not on top of the world's first redheaded skyscraper? Phooey!" She then hopped off of the country boy who had been staring at her wide-eyed the whole time. "Sorry about that," she said craning her neck to see his face. "You've got such a big and strong stature I could've sworn you were a building!" She then gave a quick shrug. "But I probably should've realized since Queen Kong wasn't on you either."

She then hopped down and began to sulk at not being able to be launched off of the island, not knowing that behind her Rodney was blushing madly.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Rodney - "She thinks I have a big and strong stature? Wow... You know, last season's really finale bummed me out when I saw Jasmine cheating on me with Shawn. That's probably what Chris meant when he said I was the ultimate failure of love. I didn't think I could handle being on the show again after that. But just look now! Fate has brought me a woman a passion as beautifully fiery as her hair; Izzy!

* * *

"Like I told you earlier Izzy," Chris said. "You can go on your 'fun rides' after our little game of cat and mouse today." These words brightened the redhead's mood considerably.

"Okay!" she chirped. "But be warned my fiendish feline foes, as it says in the old Czechoslovakian proverb, this rat is more than happy to bite a cat when cornered!" Such a remark easily baffled everyone who was listening, but only Courtney was willing to question it.

"I'm pretty sure that's an ancient Chinese proverb Izzy," the type A said. Her rebuttal was met with Izzy hopping in front of less than an inch away from her face.

"That's just what the history books want you to think!" the psycho hose beast countered. "They may have the rest of you fooled, but Izzy knows the truth! Confucius was a shameless plagiarist! He'd steal sayings from anyone, all to fuel his cookie empire!"

Chris cleared his throat. "Not that this hasn't been riveting," he said insincerely before tapping his watch. "But we are on a schedule here." Chatter amongst the teams ceased and Izzy left her friends to stand next to Duncan. "Thank you. Now then, to make things more sporting, and by that I mean harder for the hunters, Duncan and Izzy will be given a five minute head start. And...GO!"

He pointed towards the forest and at his word, the two cameos left, Izzy opting to cartwheel her way instead of simply running. Once they were both completely out of sight, Chris faced the contestants once more.

"When their five minutes is up, you're all free to start tracking them down," he said. "But be warned, you're only getting a two minute head start before Chef comes after you." His words were met with numerous complaints from the teens but he did not heed them. He pulled out his air horn again and with one blast he shut them up almost immediately. "Yeah, you all should be thankful I'm giving you any kind of head start at all," he gloated. "I could just have Chef start firing at you kids now and save some time."

Many of the contestants looked worried at such a thought as they saw Chef polishing his bazooka with a handkerchief. They all knew that while the burly man wasn't as cruel to them as the host was on a regular basis, he was still far from being a saint.

"That's what I thought," Chris smirked. "If I were any of you, I'd advise everyone to find at least one person to buddy up with. There can only be two winners for this game but unless you actually want to become a sitting duck for Chef and the forest creatures, it'd do you good to have an ally or two."

"Sha-please!" Lightning scoffed. "There ain't nothing in those woods that I can't handle by myself! The glory will be Lightning's and Lightning's alone!" His declaration was met with snickering, courtesy of his blonde rival. The football player leered at her. "Got somethin' you wanna say Jo?"

"Only that it's hilarious," Jo replied smugly as she walked up to him with her arms crossed. "I'm not sure if it's delusion or not but you, beating me? Like I said, hilarious!"

"Oh you think you can beat me?" Lightning asked. "Need I remind you that I at least made it to the finale during Revenge of the Island?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and lost to the biggest lightweight out of the whole cast!" she retorted. "Not to mention that after that you were the second person kicked off in All-Stars."

Lightning stomped his foot in anger. "Only because of you!" he growled. He then thought for a minute and grinned when he realized something. "And if Lightning remembers right, you regretted that move and ended up being the next one out!"

The tomboy's expression grew sour at the mention of this. She hated losing the war challenge and hated the fact that Lightning was right even more. The two were now engaged in a heated stare down that intimidated some of the less nervy campers even though they weren't involved. One was brave enough to step up and say something though.

"You both should stop this now," Brick said placing his left hand on Jo's shoulder and his right on Lightning's. This caused the two to break the concentrated glares held at each other in order to look at him. "You both are strong, brave competitors true, but you shouldn't count any eggs before they hatch. Everyone here as just as much a shot at winning as you do."

Jo shoved the cadet's hand off and sneered. "Don't flatter yourself Sergeant Leaky," she said. "I give most of these saps eleven minutes before Chef takes them out and that's being generous."

Her confident look was broken when she heard someone snicker. She turned to see that the culprit was none other than Eva, who had cracked a smile for the first time that day. "What are you laughing at?"

"Relax blondie," Eva said calmly. "It's just nice to finally meet another girl on this show that's got some grit." She strode her way over to Jo, shoving Brick out of her way and into Lightning. "Having some _real_ competition for a change might make things here less of a pain." She offered the other athlete her hand. "But don't think you can beat me."

Pleasantly surprised by this, Jo smirked. She took Eva's hand and the two shared a tightly gripped shake. "We'll just see about that," she said.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Lightning - "Great. Just sha-freakin' great! There's _two_ of them now!"

* * *

In contrast to some of the more competitive players who preferred the option of going solo, others had decided to take Chris's advice and partner up. Dawn and B had joined up almost immediately, the two having exchanged nothing more than a couple of nods and warm smiles. Then B felt a tapping on his back.

"Oh hello there Gwen," Dawn said cheerfully. "Would you like to come with us? We'd be more than happy to have another along." Her quiet companion smiled in concurrence and sidestepped a little as if to give her some space to join into.

"I appreciate the offer guys," the goth girl replied as she held up her hands. "But that's not why I'm here. I actually came because B has something of mine." The genius looked confused at first, not having interacted with Gwen at all.

"Check your coat big guy," was all she said. B did so, patting said piece of clothing and his eyes widened when he felt something that felt unfamiliar. He opened up his coat and saw Cameron, his eyes shut tight, clutching onto the inside of as if his life depended on it. The girls couldn't help but giggle although B didn't look too amused.

Gwen crouched to where she would be eye level to the bubble boy and placed a hand onto his shoulder. "Izzy's gone Cameron," she told him. "And Sierra's not going to bother you. Not while the real Cody's here."

Cameron tentatively opened up one eye. Seeing Gwen his expression became much more relaxed, enough so he felt brave enough his other eye and look around. He let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness," he said. "I thought I would go into cardiac arrest from the fear itself!" Finger snapping could be heard and he saw B pointing at him and then towards the ground.

"Sorry B," the smaller boy said. He stepped down and let go of the coat. "It was scary enough when I heard Sierra, but when Izzy showed up I guess I panicked." His fellow genius rolled his eyes but nevertheless gave him an A-ok to show that he wasn't mad.

Gwen patted Cameron on the back. "Try not to get too jumpy," she advised. "Otherwise you'll draw attention to yourself and trust me, the less you have on _this_ show, the better off you'll be."

As the four exchanged a small laugh (B's not being audible, naturally), Sierra was doing just what Gwen assumed, completely disrespecting Cody's personal space and breaking the promise she made to Trent. As the musician was currently not with them, she decided to simultaneously squeeze him and needle him with questions about his now former bandmates.

"Did Harold write another tell-all book?" she prattled on. "If so, for how much? The first one was exactly $22.60 if I remember right, but it was _so_ worth it to learn that you have a pair of lucky tiger-striped undies!"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cody - _*Blushing furiously.*_ "The audience didn't really need to know that, but yes I _used_ to. That is until Sierra swiped them along with about half of the gitch in my drawers! _*he groans and rubbed his temples in frustration*_ I'm not proud of what I'm about to do, and somebody else won't like it when he sees this episode, but it's time to pull out an old failsafe to make some distance between Sierra and me.

* * *

"Hey Sierra," the geek said as he struggled to lift a finger to point towards the beach. "I think I just saw someone wearing a 'Noco Rules!' T-shirt over there!" Sierra dropped the boy with a start and her gleeful expression was soon replaced with an angry one.

"WHAT?!" she shrieked, not noticing Cody quietly crawl away from her. She tore off and began to dart around the beach, searching for the alleged person.

Now Cody was on his feet and began to tiptoe, hoping to find Trent before Sierra could find out the truth. "Noco is not real!" he could hear her screech in the distance, causing him to shudder.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cody - "Noah and Cody, or 'Noco', is probably the only Total Drama pairing that Sierra truly hates. Even though Noah wasn't conscious when he kissed my ear during the Awake-a-Thon, she's always believed he wants to steal me away from her. Noah doesn't like it when people bring that up but it's a great way of distracting Sierra. Plus, he isn't even here so what can he do?"

* * *

"And just where are you slinking off to?" A voice asked that caused Cody to jump with a start. He turned around expecting to see his stalker having seen through ruse but was grateful when he instead saw Trent with Tyler in tow.

"The ol' reliable?," Trent knowingly asked to which the geek replied with a nod. "It never fails," he shrugged. When he looked at Tyler and saw that the jock was looking even more solemn than before. "You alright buddy?"

Tyler muttered something that was too quiet for either Cody or Trent to understand. He cast a look over to his ex-girlfriend. Although Lindsay had stopped crying by this point, she still looked upset and was holding onto Sammy's shoulder as if it were a security blanket, the good twin offering as many consoling words as she could.

Tyler put his hands into his pockets and cast his gaze towards the ground in a slump. This concerned Trent and Cody greatly, neither having seen their friend so downtrodden.

"I think it might do him some good to be with some old pals," Trent said to Cody. "Mind if he tags along?" He smiled when the geek shook his head. "Of course not," Cody answered. "One already looks like she'll be taken care of nicely so let's help out the other."

Just as he said that however, one person decided to disrupt Sammy's comforting of Lindsay for no reason other than she wanted the former under her thumb. "Uh, loud cough of interruption," Amy said rudely. "You need to be getting ready for the challenge Samey. I'm winning this challenge but not without my shield because I refuse to get Chef's grody pasta in my hair!"

Trying her best to remain patient, Sammy sighed and faced her sister. "Look," she said calmly. "Lindsay's feeling vulnerable right now. Even if you don't care, I do. Can't you do this challenge without me?"

Amy rolled her eyes and indignantly crossed her arms. "Of course I can!" she insisted. "But I see no point in doing so when you're around, like obviously! Let the crybaby go on her own!" She cast a glare towards Lindsay. "Why'd the dork in the tracksuit dump you anyway? Was he fed like, up with your idiocracy?"

Lindsay bit her lip and could feel tears start welling up her eyes again but felt Sammy gently pat her soldier before stepping towards her sister. "First of all, that isn't a real world," she started. "And second, you've no right to talk to her that way!"

Initially surprised by her twin's defiance, Amy still stood her ground and smirked. "Or what?" she asked. "You're gonna stop me? Go right ahead. And while everyone's still here I can start talking about number twenty-six."

Any courage Sammy had gained was quickly lost at this threat. Her face went pale and arms dropped to her sides in submission. "You know about that one?" she quietly asked.

The evil twin haughtily twirled a strand of her hair as a means of gloating. "Oh of course I do," she boasted. "Didn't I tell you? I know everything about _all_ of them." As the sisters exchanged looks, Lindsay could only stand there confused as to what they were talking about.

"Okay so, just what exactly is going on with you guys?" she asked nervously, hoping not be on the receiving end of another venomous verbal barb.

"I was just wondering the same thing myself," Jasmine said after walking up to the trio. Taking a protective stance behind Sammy and Lindsay both, the Australian cast Amy an inquisitive look. But even with her new and intimidating presence, Amy didn't falter.

"What it is remains between me and Samey," she replied. "And if she knows what's good for her, it's going to stay that way. Right little sister?" She had finished her sentence with a stern look in Sammy's direction, to which the good twin could only nod somberly.

"Good," Amy said. She spun on her heel and began to walk away from Jasmine. "Now's that that's settled, let's get going Samey. And since two shields are better than one, go ahead and bring Lindsidiot along."

Her temper beginning to rise higher and higher, Jasmine was only a few seconds away from grabbing the mean twin by the hair and giving her a piece of her mind. However, someone else had heard the entire exchange and decided to get involved herself.

"Nuh-uh blondie, you ain't using dat poor girl for anything, 'specially no shield!"

Anne Maria had strode her way over to them and shoved Amy out of her way so that she was able take a protective stance toward the blonde beauty. Both of the twins and Jasmine looked rather surprised at this.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Sammy - "Wow, I never would've expected Anne Maria to do something like _that_. I mean, I would never call her _evil_ or anything, but I don't remember her being so...concerned about someone else."

Anne Maria - "Look, I know I ain't the nicest person around, but I just _had_ to be dere for Lindsay. Da only thing worse than gettin' dumped is havin' your ex around all the time and she clearly needs more dan one shoulda to cry on! I know I wish that I coulda had some after I realized dat Vito was neva coming back. _*She sniffs and a tear begins to form in her eye, but she then remembers the camera.*_ Get dat thing outta my face! _*She places her hand over the lens.*_

* * *

"You just stick wit me girl," Anne Maria told Lindsay reassuringly, rubbing her shoulder. "I'll be sure to protect ya and talk to ya about Tyler if ya want." For the first time since Tyler's arrival to the island, Lindsay had managed a small smile. "For real?" she asked her voice wavering a little. When Anne Maria nodded, she wrapped her arms around her in an embrace. "Thanks Annabelle!"

As she continued to hug her, she didn't notice that Anne Maria's eyes had widened after being called the wrong name. But once she saw Lindsay's cheerful expression start to return, she simply shrugged. "Meh, close enough."

Amy, displeased by this, did her best to appear aloof and left them. "Whatevs," she said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Samey, let's go!"

The good twin reluctantly followed, only to see that Jasmine was going as well. "Don't think I'm gonna leave you alone with her," the survivalist said with a wink. Her friend looked a little apprehensive though. "But what about Shawn?" she asked.

"Don't worry about Shawn mate," Jasmine replied. "He'll be fine. Although he'll probably worry more about whether or not there are zombies here than the challenge."

"That doesn't bother you anymore?" Sammy tilted her head in confusion. Jasmine cast a look over to her boyfriend who was inspecting the campers he didn't know personally for bite marks. (Which not too many seemed to appreciate if Courtney's irate look was any indication.)

"He is who he is," Jasmine said with a smile. "I can't help but love the guy, paranoia and bad smell included. And yes, I'm well aware of how weird that sounds."

Chris was now looking at his watch again and grinned before pulling out a megaphone. "Ok everybody!" he called, garnering the teens' attention. "Duncan and Izzy's five minutes are up which means it's time to officially start this challenge! Partner or no partner, take your positions at the forest's entrance and..." he held three fingers in the air.

"On your mark..." he took down one finger as everyone stood before the path that lead into Boney Island's thicket.

"Get set..." only one finger was in the air now as the campers began to exchange competitive looks, some friendly, others hostile.

"Try not to die!" Chris pulled out his air horn and blew it into the megaphone, causing a deafening sound that rattled nearly all of the contestants. Some with relatively weak bodies such as Cameron, Dave and Cody fell to the ground while others had to cover their ears in an attempt to block the noise out. They cast dark glares to the host who mischievously shrugged.

"What? You all know me, you all should've expected that," he said impishly. Such words only incensed the heated looks aimed at him. "And by all means keep wasting your time by giving me the stink eye. Chef may prefer more of a hunt, but I don't think he'd say no to some easy targets, right Chef?"

The cook was already on one knee and had his weapon ready to fire. "If only I could choose who oughta be first," he mused. "Decisions, decisions."

"Quick! We gotta amscray!" Shawn yelled. He and the others ran as fast as they could, quickly breaking off into different directions as the path widened.

Chris gave a satisfied sigh after seeing the players run. "This is gonna be fun," he said before turning to his cohost. "Do _not_ make this easy for them, cool?" The burly cook nodded and was about to begin his own trek through the woods before a shrill noise was heard by the both of them.

"Cody? Cody? Where are you Cuddly Bug? I couldn't see a Noco shipper anywhere on the beach!"

Sierra had just run back up to the bonfire pit and true to form, was looking around for no one other than Cody. In fact, she didn't seem to care at all that with the exceptions of Chris and Chef, the area was deserted.

"Cody! Were your eyes playing tricks on you?" Sierra called. "Or were you just trying to play a little trick on me?"

The super fan's presence easily annoyed both the host and his assistant, the latter holding up his weapon and giving his boss a pleading look. Chef didn't even have to ask.

"Try and go for the mouth," Chris requested. Chef eagerly nodded in reply and with careful aim, fired an enormous meatball straight at the intended target.

"Mmph!"

Following Chris's order exactly, Chef had hit Sierra directly in the mouth which left her, to the great relief of both of them, unable to talk. Not only that, but the force of the blast had knocked her straight off her feet, leaving her on her back on the ground. She quickly tried to scrape it away, her eyes starting to water from its sheer pungency.

Chris walked over to the fangirl and disappointingly shook his head. "What a shame," he said. "With what you know about the contestants you may very well have actually won the challenge had you not fallen for such an obvious lie." He was met with a small amount of meatball being spat in his face.

"Codykins lying to me? Never!" Sierra had managed to pick herself up and was wiping away the remnants of Chef's attack from her face. She pointedly turned away from him and crossed her arms. "He might tease me every now and then but lie to me? That's crazy talk!"

Chris flicked the foodstuffs from his face and glared at her. "Right..." he said slowly. "That reminds me, with you here I'll need to be sure to have the men in white on speed dial. But as for right now, you're officially out of the challenge!"

Sierra's eyes shot open before she spun around to face him again. "What?!" she asked in disbelief. "How is that possible? The challenge can't have started already!" Chris groaned before motioning to the area.

"Look around Sierra," he said in exasperation. "No one's here! Why would you think that is?"

Sierra did so and it then finally dawned on her that the challenge _did_ start when she saw Chef began making his way down the path.

"Oh..." she looked more than a little embarrassed. "Hold on though. You said we were getting a two minute head start before Chef could start shooting at us!" This actually made Chris chuckle some.

"Heh heh heh! Oops! Did I say two _minutes_?" he asked not so innocently. "I actually meant two _seconds_! Units of time can be so easy to mix up sometimes, y'know?"

Sierra's face fell. "B-But Cody is out there all alone!" she protested. "He won't survive out there without me!"

"I will have you know that Cody is in fact not alone," Chris said while holding up a finger. "And in my opinion his chances of survival have increased exponentially now that you won't be following him."

He gave a whistle and soon a jeep driven by an intern that Sierra didn't recognize pulled up. Chris hopped into the passenger's seat and turned around to continue talking to her.

"Instead you'll be following me and What's-His-Face here, on foot of course, to the cabins to await the other twenty-three losers," he said, not paying any attention to the intern that looked to be attempting to burn holes in the back of his head. Sierra opened her mouth to speak but Chris cut her off before a single word came out.

"Just letting you know now that I made sure to have a tranquilizer gun ready in case one of our cameos got out of hand. I am not afraid to use it on you and have him," he jerked a thumb towards the irritated intern, "drag you to the cabins instead."

Sierra quickly shut her mouth and sadly nodded. As the jeep rolled away, she began to shuffle along, muttering about how unfair Chris was being to Total Drama's number one fan.

* * *

The scene flashed to show Beardo, by himself, calmly walking through the forest with his hands cupped by his mouth and making a sound akin to a police siren. Having watched Total Drama before competing himself, the beatboxer knew it was the perfect sound to drive out either one of his potential targets. Or at the very least keep animals away from him.

Stopping for a minute, he looked around for a sign; of Izzy, Duncan, a trap, anything. When he spotted some bushes rustling a few feet away, he quietly tiptoed until he got closer. Whatever was behind the bush was still moving, so Beardo steeled his nerves before making the loudest thunderclap sound he could muster.

"Aaahh! Mommy! Help me! Come save your little dictator!"

Beardo frowned. It was Max who was now cowering up against a tree, mistakenly believing there was real thunder. With much reluctance, he went over and snapped his fingers at the shorter boy.

Max opened one eye and when he saw the beatboxer, he frowned. "How dare you!" he exclaimed. "Trying to instill fear into the great _me_?! You have just earned yourself a place on my revenge list! Right between Scarlett and the ice cream man who never stops his truck for me!"

Beardo rolled his eyes and decided to leave Max to his rantings when he heard more rustling. He slapped a hand over Max's mouth and held a finger over his own to signal him to stop shouting. It wasn't anything to be afraid of though, as two considerably nice campers emerged from the greenery.

"Hello Beardo, Max," Dawn greeted with a smile. "Would it be alright with you two if B were to make use of that cage?"

Both boys exchanged confused looks before Max swat Beardo's hand away. "Cage? What cage?" he demanded rudely. B pointed towards the top of the tree they were standing by and sure enough, tied to a branch was a wooden cage.

"Well, not so much the cage itself as the rope keeping it up," Dawn explained. "B says its a durable kind that will be more than enough to restrain Izzy or Duncan." The silent boy nodded in confirmation. Beardo replied with a thumbs up while Max scoffed and crossed his arms.

"You may go ahead and try peons," he said snootily. "But once I enact my ingenious plan to catch those barbarians, it is I who shall be leading a team! A team of evil!"

Dawn and Beardo didn't appear to be impressed while B hadn't been listening to Max at all. He was busy scaling the tree to reach the branch where the rope's knot was.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Dawn - "Max's aura is...not easily described with just a few words.

Beardo - _*He holds his hands over his eyes and motions opening and closing them while making cuckoo bird sounds.*_

* * *

A sudden scratching sound was then heard, surprising all four teenagers. "Someone else is here," Dawn said. She walked over to where the sound had been coming from, her expression having become serious. She knelt down and peered into a bush only for a small squirrel to pop out and chitter happily at her.

"It's merely a filthy piece of vermin," Max scoffed, but Dawn shook her head. "This little one isn't who I was referring to Max," she said, giving the critter a scratch behind its ears. "I can sense another's aura, and it isn't happy."

Beardo make a sound of a knife slicing, bending his arm for emphasis. "No I don't think that it's Chef," Dawn replied, understanding what he meant. "This aura isn't just angry, it's scared too."

"Poppycock!" Max walked over to her. "Your speak of 'auras' is utter nonsense! I command you to end your ramb-Ow!" He was cut off when an acorn hit him on the head. He turned to see that B, now in the tree, had thrown it and was now shushing him. He then began to make work on untying the rope.

"B is right Max," Dawn said now standing up holding the squirrel in her hands. "If you don't stop shouting then Chef is bound to find us."

"Bah! That poor excuse for a cook shall never find me!" Max yelled. "He has a much better chance at capturing that mangy little rodent!" He pointed to the squirrel which wasn't the best idea as the offended forest creature wasted no time in biting his finger.

"Aaah! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!"

The wannabe villain began running around in pain but the squirrel stubbornly held on. Beardo and Dawn both tried to stop him, but he managed to unintentionally evade them at every turn.

"Max please!" Dawn cried. "You'll hurt that poor animal at the rate you're going!"

A large booming sound then filled the air causing all three of them to stop dead. This was quickly followed by a loud thud caused by B having fallen from the tree, his entire torso covered in pasta.

"Hello children," Chef chuckled darkly, stepping into view. Before anyone could react he fired off another three shots and squarely hit Beardo's afro, Dawn's stomach, and Max's face. All of them had been knocked down and were groaning in pain, the squirrel having finally released its grip in Max.

"Y'all are out of the game!" the cook announced. "And you have the little purple haired 'genius' to thank since it was him that led me right to ya."

Max sheepishly laughed as the other three glared at him. Dawn picked herself up and looked back to where the scratching noise had been.

"It's gone," she said sadly. "And it looked to be in so much pain." She sighed before her brow furrowed in anger. "I don't like to let myself get mad but Max, you were just acting like a...like a-" She was cut off by Beardo mimicking a donkey's brays to which B nodded in agreement.

* * *

"I guess it all goes back to when I invited her over to have dinner with me and my parents. She called me Steve and from there, everything just kinda went downhill."

In another part of the forest Tyler was recounting his breakup to Cody and Trent. Surprisingly enough they hadn't fallen victim to any traps but that didn't stop the latter two from keeping their eyes peeled while listening to their friend.

"Something just hit me after she left that night," the jock went on. "After nearly three years of dating she still forgot my name and that wasn't the biggest problem! I mean, there were times I'd end up alone at a restaurant or the movies because she forgot we made plans and would be hanging out with Beth!"

"Well some girls do need that special time with just their friends," Cody said.

"It's not just that," Tyler shook his head. "Anytime some other dude would come along, someone better looking, it was like I didn't even exist!"

"Yeah, that's never a fun thing to deal with," Trent said, remembering that he was one of the boys Lindsay had flirted back during the first season. Seeing Tyler's glum face made him feel guilty for any times he may have flirted back.

"I dunno you guys," Tyler said wistfully. "I didn't expect her to still be upset over it. Maybe I made a mista-Yeow!" Cody and Trent both cringed when they saw that the jock had stepped right into a bear trap. Both rushed over to help him, Cody taking ahold of his leg while Trent began to pull the jaws apart. It took some doing, but he managed to get enough space to where Cody could pull Tyler free before he let go and the jaws snapped back shut.

"Let me ask you something Tyler," Trent said standing up. "When was the last time you felt your heart go 'ba-bump' when you thought of Lindsay? How long has it been since the thought of her made you so happy, you might as well have been walking on air?"

The jock rubbed his chin as he pondered this. "It's actually hasn't been for quite a while now that I think about it," he replied.

"Well then you did the right thing," Trent said. "If being around her or even thinking about her doesn't make your heart pound like crazy, it's best to end things. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair to you or to Lindsay."

"Really?" Tyler asked, to which the music man nodded.

"Besides, there are plenty of other girls competing and almost all of them are single," Cody added. "Who's to say you won't find someone new?"

 _"_ Attention campers!" Chris's voice announced over the loudspeaker. "This just in! Sierra, B, Max, Beardo and Dawn have all been taken out! Chef is on the prowl now, so I suggest you get your butts in gear lest you want to die a tomato sauce induced death!"

"He _really_ loves playing it up, doesn't he?" Trent asked. Cody was too happy to respond. The news left him with an insatiable grin on his face.

"Sierra's out of the challenge!" he cheered. "Yes! Sweet freedom!"

"You do know you'll see her once we make it to the cabins, right?" Tyler's question dampened the geek's mood considerably, though Trent couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm guessing you _won't_ be telling her about our last concert anytime soon then?" he asked. Cody shook his head.

"Sierra might drive me nuts but she's a very sensitive person," he said. "I need some more time to think about _how_ I'm gonna tell her what happened. I mean, I don't wanna hurt her."

Tyler looked between the two confusedly. "Uh...What are you guys talking about?"

Cody hung his head and sighed. "It was our farewell concert in Toronto..." he started.

"Lemme guess; the little dorkling actually managed to get some other chick to go out with him?" All three boys were startled when a new voice cut Cody off. They were less than pleased to see that Duncan had joined them, looking rather arrogant.

"How many time did you have to beg her before she said yes?" the punk asked causing Cody to scowl at him.

"I believe I was talking to my _friends_ Duncan," he said. "What I was about to say is none of your business."

Duncan held up his hands. "All right, all right kid chill," he said. "Believe it or not I'm actually _not_ here to cause trouble. I'm here to ask a favor."

Trent raised a brow at this. "What kind of favor?" he asked. Duncan pointed a finger to the metal band around his ankle and then at Cody.

"You're pretty good with tech stuff like this, ain't ya?" Cody nodded. "Well then how's about getting this stupid thing off of me?" When the geek shook his head, he grimaced in reply. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean that Chris could penalize me for helping you out," Cody said. "Knowing him he'd probably send me home the minute you got off the island and I don't wanna risk getting booted the first day. Also, I don't like you."

Duncan growled as he stormed over to Cody and lifted him up by the collar of his shirt. "Listen here you little skeeze," he snarled. "I'm being awfully nice here, especially considering where I've been for the past few months. I'll put it differently; get this band off my leg, and I won't leave you black and blue."

The smaller and weaker Cody began to shake at this threat but was relieved when he saw Trent grab Duncan's wrist.

"That's enough," he told the punk sternly. "He has no obligation to help you. Now let him go."

Normally Duncan wouldn't back down, totally confident that he could take both Cody and Trent in a fight. But when he saw Tyler walking up to them cracking his knuckles, he decided to obey.

He put Cody down but as he did so he noticed that by his foot was a thread suspended above the ground. An impish smirk made its way to his face when he turned around and got a vague look at what it was connected to.

"Fine, I know when I'm beat," he said innocently. "But before I go, I've only this to say; heads up!" He dropped to the ground and yanked the thread. Before anyone could make sense of what was going on, an incredibly long bola came sailing through the air and bound itself tightly to Cody, Trent and Tyler, knocking them off their feet and onto the ground with their backs against a tree.

"Ha! That's what you suckers get for thinking you could go up against _me_!" Duncan cackled. He proceeded to pull out a marker from his pocket and scribble a mustache onto the boys' faces, each a different style ; a handlebar on Tyler, a toothbrush on Cody, and a horseshoe on Trent.

The punk sniggered for a moment but then frowned. "I can do more than that," he said to himself. "I was in prison after all." He scratched his head and snapped his fingers when an idea came to him. Placing one hand on Tyler's temple and the other on Trent's he then slammed all three of their heads together, leaving them dazed and in pain.

"Much better," he said satisfied. He was about to leave when something sticking out of Trent's pocket caught his eye. "And what's this?" he asked snatching it. "Elvis, you've _still_ got Pasty's old Alien Chunks necklace? Don't tell me you're still holding the torch for her."

"G-Gib, give it back, Dooncan," Trent struggled to say, his head still hurting.

"Nah, I think I'll hang on to it," the punk replied placing it around his neck and then tucking it into his shirt. "I was actually gonna go see her next, see if she'd be willing to give me another shot."

A roar in the distance that distinctly sounded ursine in nature caused his eyes to widen.

"Well, I'd say that's my cue to get out of here gents," he declared. "Later!" He ran off leaving the boys who were tied up glaring after him.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Trent - _*The mustache is still on his face*_ "Of course Duncan should realize, this means war!"

* * *

"Your eyes are like two jades found in a pile of precious treasure. Seeing them makes my heart soar so high, I couldn't begin to measure."

Elsewhere in a clearing, Rodney was alone and completely unfocused on the challenge. Instead he was contemplating poetry to recite to his most recent infatuation; Izzy.

"Your hair is a beautifully bright orange. It...It...Wait a minute. What rhymes with orange?"

Which was going about as well as one might expect.

"That line won't do any good," he sighed. The country boy folded his arms behind his back and started to pace. "Maybe a poem isn't the way to go. Maybe some other kind of big gesture? Hmm...Oof!"

Unfortunately, Rodney had forgotten that when a person paces, they must turn around to walk in a different direction after a certain point. He had just walked into a tree.

"This isn't going as easily as I had hoped," he moaned as he slid down and sank to the ground.

"Help!"

Rodney shook his head and picked himself up when he heard a voice cry out, one that was in distress. "Huh? Who is that?" he wondered aloud. Curiosity having stricken him, he waded through foliage until he came upon a certain liar tangled up inside a net that was suspended in the air. "Um, hi. Your name's Staci right?"

"Wha?" Staci asked not having seen him come. "Oh yah! Hi there Rodney!" She now looked very relieved at his presence though he still couldn't tell why. She nervously pointed past him. He turned to see a pack of grey wolves standing before him, growling with their teeth bared.

"I uh, guess they didn't really like my story about my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather Ronald invented the hunting rifle," Staci sheepishly said as she twiddled her thumbs.

The wolves began to advance, causing the chatterbox to scream in fright. Rodney however didn't appear to be afraid. "Aw this is nothing to worry about," he said with a shrug. Taking in a deep breath, he slammed a foot on the ground and bellowed out a mighty roar. The wolves froze, and Rodney did it once more, now waving his arms around. This caused the pack to start whimpering in fear and with one final roar, Rodney had sent them running with their tails between their legs.

"Wow," Staci breathed. "That was amazing!"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Rodney - "It's not the first time I've scared wolves away. Those critters are always trying to break into the chicken coop back home. But getting rid of them is easy; make yourself as loud and scary as possible. If the alpha runs, the others will too. A lot of people in the city don't get that a lot of animals are more gentle than they think.

* * *

"Thanks Rodney," Staci said.

"You're welcome," Rodney replied. "Hey, by any chance have you seen Izzy around?"

"Oh yah!" Staci stuck her arm through the net and pointed to the east. "I think I heard some laughing over in that direction!" she answered. "It sounded an awful lot like Izzy!"

"Really?" Rodney asked. "Great! Thanks Staci! I've gotta track down my special girl!" He immediately took off, not realizing that Staci was still trapped inside the net.

"Wait!" she tried calling after him. But she was too late, the country boy was gone. "Oh, now how am I gonna get down?"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Chris - _*He chuckles to himself*_ "Chef would answer that question a few minutes later on. As you at home are about to see, the forest proved to be a little more than even some of the toughest anticipated."

* * *

The following footage consisted of various campers succumbing to one kind of obstacle or another.

The first clip consisted of Eva striking a tree with her fist, causing it to shake and several leaves to fall. What also fell was a surprised Izzy, who landed right into Eva's open arms. She laughed at first and then proceeded to poke her captor's cheeks and lick her forehead. Eva, being well accustomed to Izzy's antics, did not get mad though she did give off a stern look. The psycho wasn't fazed but did soon see something that caused her to jump up and run away. (Or cartwheel away rather.) Eva turned around to see what had driven Izzy away; two fierce-looking wooly beavers. Undeterred, the athlete grinned as she said, "Bring it on."

Next came a clip of Lindsay hiding behind Anne Maria as the two were confronted by a rather large snake. Both of them backed away as it snapped at them, until Anne Maria pulled out a can of spray tan from her pouf and aimed a generous dose right into the reptile's open mouth. The girls cheered in victory as it slithered away coughing only to be hit moments later by one of Chef's spaghetti shots. To add insult to injury, most of it ended up in their hair.

Following that Lightning, Jo and Brick were seen, seemingly more focused on outrunning each other than locating one of their targets. Ahead of the others, Jo stopped for a minute and stretched out her leg to trip Lightning, causing him to fall straight into a pit trap. Smugly laughing to herself, she began to run again only to fall into a second pit that was nearby herself. Brick sighed and disappointedly shook his head before continuing on. Unfortunately, before he could advance much further, a growling alligator blocked his way. The cadet reacted in a way that was perfectly natural in such a situation; he wet himself from the fear. Luckily the smell was enough to drive the beast away.

Then came a clip of Shawn, effortlessly hopping from tree to tree. Doing so allowed him to easily avoid any and all traps or animals located below. Taking a moment to catch his breath, the scruffy teen sat down on a branch. While there he saw a lone figure, dragging its feet along the ground and moaning. Peering to get a better look, he shrieked when he saw a grungy-looking face. "It's a walker!" The shock caused him to fall backwards and land flat on his back onto a glue trap. The supposed zombie then straightened itself up and laughed. It then wiped its face clean and revealed itself to be Duncan who had covered himself in mud. The punk then doodled on Shawn's face and ran off.

Finally Sky was shown attempting to talk to Dave one final time. But instead of listening to a thing she had to say, he had his fingers in his ears, chanting childishly, "La la la la la!" This proved to be his undoing though as by ignoring Sky he was unable to hear her warning him about a snare. Needless to say, the end result was Dave suspended in the air upside down. His hair had also fallen completely off his scalp, revealing that he was still bald.

* * *

The footage then flashed forward to show the eliminated campers gathered around the cabins. Now having access to the washrooms and their luggage, everyone had decided to shower off all the filth that had gotten on to them as a result of the challenge. Those who were finished and those who were still waiting their turn were standing by the finish line. One of them was Jasmine, who was disheartened to see Shawn come with meatball on his face and the glue trap still plastered to his back.

"What happened Shawnie?" she asked. "I figured you'd ace this kinda challenge for sure!"

"I could say the same to you," he replied. "Duncan tricked me. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's people who think of the encroaching apocalypse as a joke!" He sighed, frustrated with himself more than anything. "How'd Chef get to you?"

The Australian jerked a thumb behind her. " _Someone_ got herself stuck in a little quicksand and screeched so loud, it would've been impossible for him _not_ to find us." Nearby, a chiming sound was heard, courtesy of Beardo. "Uh, what's up with him?"

"The whole situation of someone being so loud it attracted Chef rings a bell," Dawn explained for the beatboxer. Beardo grinned at her and fist bumped both her and B who was also smiling.

Having heard all of this, Amy turned her nose up indignantly. "It was all Samey's fault!" she complained. "If _she_ hadn't jumped out of the way when I tried to push her, _I_ wouldn't have fallen in!"

"Maybe things would've gone better for you if you hadn't tried to push your sister into quicksand in the first place?" Shawn tentatively suggested.

"Oh like I even knew that it was there!" Amy huffed. "It looks just like sand!" While others winced at how shrill she was being, Jasmine walked over to her with a glare.

"Sammy told me what you took from her," she said darkly. "I shouldn't be surprised that you'd stoop so low. Don't think you'll have your hold on her forever because I _will_ help her get them back once she finishes her shower."

"Oh you can go ahead and try," the evil twin challenged. "But I managed to hide them right before the challenge started. Finding them might not be as easy as you think!"

The two stared at each other heatedly until Shawn walked up to them. "What exactly are you guys talking about?"

Sighing, Jasmine turned away while Amy wore a victorious smirk. "I'll tell you later," she replied. She then sniffed the air and covered her nose. "But you might wanna shower yourself first. No offense babe but you reek like expired vegemite."

A high pitched scream was heard and the couple turned their heads to see Lightning, clad in nothing but a towel, run out of the washrooms shivering.

"D-D-D-Dang it Dave!" the football player yelled towards the germaphobe. "Y-You sha-sha-sha-used up all of the hot water!"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Dave - "I had to make sure my toupee, which I only need to wear now thanks to Sky, was clean. Do you have any idea how many bugs could've crawled into it when it fell off me? Neither do I and that's what's so scary about it!"

* * *

"All but seven campers have been taken out of the game!" Chris announced. "And hardly anyone's even come close to Izzy or Duncan! Seriously, this is just sad."

Hearing this was the small group of Trent, Cody, and Tyler who had stopped by a river to clean off Duncan's handiwork.

"I'd love to see how _he'd_ do in one of these challenges," Tyler griped crossing his arms. On the ground and looking despondent was Cody, with Trent patting his back.

"You made a noble sacrifice little bro," he consoled. "If it wasn't for you giving up your candy, that bear would've eaten us for sure!" He stood up. "And personally, I'd sooner have my skin over a piece of butterscotch."

Cody nodded. "I guess you're right," he sighed. "But I don't deserve all the credit. It was Tyler and his super strong fingers that got us out of that bola." This caused the jock to swell with pride.

"Can you believe it's all natural?" he asked looking at his hands. "I barely need to work these guys out at all!" He then frowned. "Although we wouldn't have gotten into that mess if it wasn't for Duncan. I _really_ don't like that guy."

"Neither do I," Cody remarked now getting up himself.

"I'm with you both so it's unanimous then? We go after Duncan?" Trent asked. The other two nodded to which the music man grinned. "Good. Now all we need, is a plan."

A faint whistling sound was heard, startling all three of them. They quickly dove into the bushes and peeked out to see Chef, casually whistling a tune as he strolled by and appearing not to have noticed their presence. Once he was gone, they all poked their heads out.

"Is it me, or did that song seem familiar to you guys?" Cody asked. Tyler noticed that Trent suddenly appeared thoughtful. "What's up dude?" he asked. "You got an idea?"

"I believe I do," Trent replied. "It's just a hunch really, but it's better than nothing so listen closely." The three huddled up as Trent relayed his plan to them, wanting to be as discreet as possible.

When they broke apart, Trent asked his friends, "Well? What do you think?"

"Big bro that plan sounds dangerous, risky, and incredibly likely to get ourselves seriously maimed," Cody replied. With a grin he gave a thumbs up. "I'm in."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cody - "Trent's always had a bit of a gambler in him. He isn't afraid to take a chance or two. Back when we were Drama Brothers, his ideas to get us gigs always seemed to be harebrained schemes that never sounded like they'd actually work. And believe it or not, they did. Well, most of the time."

* * *

"I'm in too," Tyler said slapping Trent on the back. "This sounds so extreme that I'd hate myself if I passed it up."

"Sweet!" Trent cheered. "Then let's go and bag ourselves a delinquent!" Cody and Tyler whooped in reply and the trio dashed off to an unknown destination.

* * *

Meanwhile, far off from where Trent, Tyler and Cody were, Courtney had been scanning the woods for just about any kind of sign from Izzy. Before the challenge had even started she resolved to search for just the crazy girl as she did _not_ want anything to do with Duncan. However, she was having little to no luck until she spotted something on the ground.

"Red hair," she said to herself as she observed the small strand she had picked up. She frowned once she saw how long it was. "Too short to belong to Izzy," she remarked. "It looks more like it'd belong to that big guy or..."

"Get the heck away from me you overgrown turkeys!" a voice rung out nearby. Courtney knew instantly who it belonged to.

"Scott!" she cried. The Type A tossed away the hair and ran in the direction the voice was coming from. Brushing past some foliage she soon saw the redneck with a club standing over a pair of Stymphalian Canadian Geese, panting after having bludgeoned both vicious birds on the head.

"That'll...teach ya to...mess with Scotty," the schemer wheezed, not hearing Courtney called his name. When she came up to him and tapped his shoulder, he swiftly raised his club as he turned around.

"I'm warning...Oh it's just you," he calmed down once he realized that it was his ex-girlfriend behind him and not another goose. "And to what do I owe the displeasure?" he asked hoisting the club over his shoulder.

Courtney cast her head down in shame. "I deserve that," she said. "Look Scott, I really want to apologize for what I did. I got so caught up in the idea of actually winning this stupid game and the million for once I guess I lost sight of the great things I had, including you. So, I'm sorry."

"Pfft! You think I'd actually believe that crock? You really oughta get yourself some acting lessons babe!"

Courtney looked up in shock as Scott gave her an unimpressed look.

"Crock? I'm telling you the truth!" Courtney insisted. "I really _am_ sorry! I only came back so I could make things right with you and Gwen!"

Scott rolled his eyes. "Oh please," he said dismissively. "Like you aren't thinking about the prize money at all?"

Courtney opened her mouth to protest but no words came out immediately. She looked aside. "Well, I wouldn't say no to winning the money," she admitted quietly.

"Ya see?" Scott pointed at her accusingly. "You love victory more than anything, you're always working some kinda angle. Well you ain't bossing me around _this_ time, I call my _own_ shots!"

"What?" Courtney gaped. "But I thought you _liked_ when I bossed you around!"

"Key word being 'liked'," the schemer retorted. "But that stupid crush I had on you made me forget how much I like _giving_ orders more than _taking_ them. That's why when I'm a captain, I'm gonna revel in pushing these losers around." He rubbed his chin in thought. "In fact I think my first command will be that everyone do their best to get rid of _you_."

"Are you serious?!" Courtney gasped. "You'd only pick me as a teammate just so you could eliminate me first?!" Her brow furrowed in anger. "Here I am trying to be sincere and you're acting like this! Were you always this much of a jerk?!"

"If that ain't the pot calling the kettle black," Scott shot back. "But yeah, I am a jerk. In fact I should thank you. What you did to me made me an even bigger jerk than before, which I gotta say is a lot nicer than being the idiot who kept getting hurt all the time."

"Fine!" Courtney shouted. "Then forget this! I'm out of here!" She turned on her heel and began to walk away. "By the way," she called. "You better watch out behind you."

Scott waved her off. "Yeah, like I'm dumb enough to fall for that old trick," he said. But a loud hissing sound caused his eyes to widen. He turned around to see a third prehistoric goose had arrived and looked livid after seeing its kin knocked out on the ground.

"Mama," Scott whimpered.

Courtney was alone again, angrily wiping away the tears that were forming in her eyes. When she heard Scott screaming she turned around and contemplated going back for a minute.

"Oh, it's just one more, he can handle himself," she decided before resuming her walk.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "Admittedly, that probably would've gone a lot better if I hadn't lost my temper. _*She slumps down and sighs in defeat.*_ But it looks like neither Gwen nor Scott will forgive me anytime soon. So what do I do now?"

* * *

"Hey are you okay?"

Courtney shrieked in surprise and fell down on her behind when out of nowhere, Izzy appeared, hanging upside down from a tree branch no less.

"How long have you been there?" Courtney asked. Izzy leaned back up before jumping down from the tree. "Izzy is everywhere! All the time!" she exclaimed. When she saw that Courtney wasn't smiling, she frowned. "I heard that nasty fight you had with Scott, are you alright?"

"Why would you care?" Courtney asked in confusion. "It's not like we were ever friends. I haven't been all that nice to you, or anyone else for that matter."

Izzy shook her head. "Not true," she replied. "Izzy's never forgotten that you were the only one who was concerned when a plane fell on me and Big O in Jamaica."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "How could she possibly remember that? She had a concussion!"

* * *

The crazy girl yanked a long vine from the tree she was hiding in. "Here, will catching me make you feel better?" she offered it to Courtney. "You can tie me up with this!"

Courtney could only stare in disbelief. "Why would you do that? You're supposed to be evading capture, not help someone hunting you!"

"Because Izzy is bored!" the psycho yelled melodramatically. "This has been going on for hours and I want my catapult/cannon ride! I'd pick on Cheffy-poo to kill time, but evil host man said if I did I wouldn't get to be fired like a rocket!"

Courtney looked tempted. She began to reach towards the vine but quickly stopped herself. "No," she said. "As much I as want to win, I don't want it to just be handed to me. If I don't win using my own abilities, there'd be no point."

"Suit yourself," Izzy shrugged tossing the vine aside. "But you might wanna hurry up and do it cuz I can hear jolly old Mr. Hatchet coming this way, toodles!" She began to skip off and sure enough, Courtney could faintly hear Chef's gruff voice complaining.

"Oh you're not getting away from me!" she whispered to make sure he wouldn't hear her. She picked up the vine and began to chase after Izzy. "I _will_ catch you but I'm going to do it _my_ way!"

Izzy, deciding to acknowledge the type A's wishes, began to run on all fours as fast as she could, now determined _not_ to be caught.

* * *

The scene then flashed to yet another part of the forest, one that was currently being occupied by Cameron and Gwen, the former nervously pacing back and forth while the latter sketched his movements on a notepad.

"I don't understand it," Cameron said thoughtfully. "We've searched extensively and haven't seen so much as a shred of Izzy's whereabouts. Where could she be hiding?" He stopped for a minute and kicked the dirt around some. "Maybe underground?"

"I wouldn't put it past her," Gwen answered. "But if that is the case, then I'm sorry but I'm giving up the search." She finished her drawing and then held it up for Cameron to see. "What do you think?"

The bubble boy observed the sketch and then took off his glasses in hopes of seeing his reflection in them. "My head isn't really _that_ big, is it?" he asked. Gwen chuckled as she took his glasses from him.

"Of course it isn't," she told him as she put them back on his face. "And your legs aren't _that_ short either. It's a caricature, I _wanted_ it to look unrealistic."

"Oh," Cameron nodded in understanding. He then smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. "Well in that case I'd say bravo!" The two exchanged a laugh, not noticing someone approach them until he decided to speak up.

"So do you plan on charging for those drawings Pasty, or are you giving them away? 'Cause I wouldn't mind one myself."

Both Gwen and Cameron's expressions changed once they saw Duncan before them, hers becoming sour and his turning wary.

"What do you want Duncan?" the goth asked her ex while crossing her arms. Cameron began to slowly back away. "I'll just, be over there," he said quietly, not really sure if he was heard.

The punk walked up to Gwen. "You're a little more hostile than usual Gwen," he remarked. "But still, it's great to hear your voice again. I missed you so much."

"No."

Duncan's unibrow shot up in surprise when he Gwen say but one word. "No?" he repeated. "Whaddya mean, 'no'? I haven't even asked you anything yet!"

"You were gonna ask me if I wanted to get back together with you and since I don't want to, I said no," Gwen replied knowingly.

Duncan frowned. "Look, if this is about the whole, 'me being obsessed with Courtney,' thing, I'm over it, I swear!" he told her holding his right hand up. "The minute I heard you guys start coming in here, you were the only girl I wanted to see."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Yeah and how long will that last?" she asked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, you're constantly craving attention Duncan," she answered poking him in the chest. "Especially negative attention. I'll admit I _could've_ focused on you more, but what difference would it have really made? You always seem to be at your happiest when someone's yelling at you. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that why you blew up Chris's mansion in the first place bad boy?"

As the former couple unhappily conversed, Cameron had been slowly inching away, not wanting to get caught in the middle of any drama. But as he did so, he inched right into a trap. "Whoa!" Within seconds he hanging upside down by his ankle. "Umm...Gwen?"

"In a minute Cam," Gwen said not turning away from Duncan and thus, unaware of what just happened. Cameron's pupils began to shrink when he heard rustling and several grunts in the bushes. "Okay..." he replied.

"But what about the special connection you and I've always had?" Duncan tried. "The special bond forged through a love horror movies and heavy metal?"

"And how often did you ever actually talk to me about any of my interests besides things like that?" Gwen countered. When Duncan didn't immediately answer, she continued. "I want to have a relationship that has more depth than that, to do more than just make out. I bet you can't even tell me who my favorite artist is."

"The...guy that lopped off his own ear?" Duncan weakly suggested with a shrug. "Vincent Van Flo?"

Gwen sighed. "That's Vincent Van _Gogh_ , and no, that isn't it."

"If...memory serves...I believe your favorite...is Salvador Dali," Cameron spoke up dazedly, much blood having flown to his head as a result of the position he was in.

"Thank you Cameron," Gwen said. "You see Duncan? I haven't known him nearly as long as I've known you and-What the?" When she turned around to gesture towards the bubble boy she saw the predicament he was now facing. In addition to hanging upside down he was now surrounded by several pigs, each trying to bite at the drawstrings of his hoodie.

"Has it...been a minute yet?" Cameron asked. Gwen ran up to him and began to wade through the crowd of swine to get to him. "Next time, don't worry about being polite and speak up," she told him. She then faced her ex as she began to untie the knot. "Bottom line Duncan, when I said it was over, I meant it. Sorry."

"Yeah," Duncan muttered with a glare. "Sure you are." He stormed off, leaving Gwen and Cameron alone once more.

"Shoo!" The pigs were not making things easy for Gwen as many nearly threw themselves onto her, eager to smell a new presence. Cameron did his best to look up to her. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it, they're only pigs," she replied, keeping her attention focused on the rope.

"That's not what I mean. I mean the whole reason we decided to go after Izzy is so you wouldn't have had to go through what just happened with Duncan. It couldn't have been easy."

Gwen merely shrugged. "With my luck it was bound to happen sooner or later," she said. "It's probably better that it happened now so he can't his hopes up if there's ever another Total Drama reunion happening soon." A distinct clicking sound was heard, startling the both of them.

"What was that?" Cameron asked in a hushed voice. His answer came in the form of Chef stepping out from behind a tree, his bazooka cocked and loaded.

A few seconds later, screams from the both of them could easily be heard from where Duncan had sulked off to. And though he was surprised to hear them, he decided not to care.

"Wish McLean had let me keep my knife," he mused as he cast a look towards a tree. "I could really stand to do some wood carving right about now." He sighed. "Well what can I do? It's not like I can go get on Courtney's nerves, she's probably sucking face with that dirt clod Scott. Pfft, no accounting for taste."

 _"For all those times you stood by me_

 _For all the truth that you made me see_

 _For all the joy you brought to my life..."_

Duncan twitched when he heard a familiar song begin to play throughout the woods. His head began to dart around in different directions as he wondered where it was coming from. But just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The punk shuddered. "I've been out here too long," he tried to convince himself. "I'm starting to hear things."

 _"...For all the wrong that you made right_

 _For every dream you made come true_

 _For all the love I found in you..."_

The punk's calm façade was quickly dropped when the music started up again. He crouched down and began to frantically search through bushes, only to find nothing. When he stood up, he felt something bump up against his back. Hesitantly turning around, he saw something he hadn't seen in quite some time, and had hoped to never see again.

"No...No...NOOOOOOO!"

* * *

"Wow, out of the three of you I honestly can't tell who looks the most horrible! Ha ha, awesome!"

Chris was standing near the finish line where three recently eliminated campers had come to join their peers. In addition to the pasta that was fired at them from Chef, Scott was covered with bruises and goose feathers while Gwen and Cameron had hoof marks on them due to the army cook spooking the pigs when he attacked them.

"Thanks for sugarcoating it for us Chris," Gwen said sarcastically.

"I always aim to please Gwen," he replied, taking the deathly stares aimed at him in stride. He took a minute to count all of the campers that were out of the challenge. "Let's see, two, three, four...fifteen, sixteen...and you three make twenty-two! Huh, doesn't seem like _anyone_ will win at this rate!"

Yeehaw! Yippy ti yi yo!"

The host was taken aback when Izzy, with a vine lassoed around her midsection and covered in thorns, hopped to the finish line. Being dragged along the ground at the other end was Courtney, also covered in thorns and clutching the vine tightly.

"Please tell me it's over," she said wearily.

"Whoa, what the heck happened to her?" Scott asked.

"This cowgirl here did her bestest to wrangle me," Izzy replied having adopted a Southern burr. "So's I aimed to shake her off any which ways I could. Even ran her through a couple of briar patches but by gum she's a tough one!" She finished her sentence by hocking a loogie at the ground, much to the disgust of those listening to her tale.

Chris took a moment to look at the haggard CIT. "Is she the one that did that to you?" he asked Izzy, pointing to the vine she was wrapped up in to which Izzy nodded. "And she didn't let go once?" Izzy nodded again. "In that case, I hereby dub Courtney the first winner of today's challenge, meaning she will be one our two team captains!"

"Yay...I won..." Courtney weakly tried to cheer as she got up. She then fell on her back, too exhausted to stand.

"Swell," Gwen grumbled. "Can I go ahead and quit the show now?"

Before anyone could react to what she said, a large sack was dropped at Chris's feet. The culprits were none other than Trent, Cody and Tyler, the latter two standing proudly while the former opened the sack to reveal a tied up Duncan inside.

"Did somebody order a moody criminal with chip on his shoulder?" Trent asked. Duncan scowled as several campers began to cheer, more happy at this victory than they were of Courtney's.

"Dudes, nice!" Chris complimented. "This is unexpected! How'd you pull it off?"

"We had to borrow a few things," Cody replied as he and Tyler stepped aside to reveal a cardboard cutout of Celine Dion, the sight causing Duncan to yelp.

"Seriously? You're _still_ scared of those things?" Eva asked from the sidelines. "You oughta be glad you're not in jail anymore."

"While we were hiding from Chef in the woods, I heard him whistling _Because You Love Me_ and I had an idea," Trent explained. "We snuck into his kitchen and would you believe it, found this lovely lady. Which is good since my original plan was to have one of us wear one of his dresses and wigs to look like Celine Dion."

"Yeah," Tyler shifted uncomfortably. "I'm actually glad we never had to go through with that plan now that I think about it."

"Like that's any less humiliating than what Chris is sure to have us do in the future," Cody said shrugging.

"DON'T GIVE HIM ANY IDEAS!" Nearly all of the contestants collectively roared, causing Cody to flinch.

The host laughed. "Not a bad thought," he said. "Maybe I can work it in for a future challenge. But as for _this_ particular one, I can only declare one other winner than Courtney and since it was Trent who carried Duncan here, it's him!"

Trent blanched. "Wait, what?" he asked. "You won't let us choose amongst ourselves?" When the host shook his head, Trent sighed as Cody and Tyler came to his side. "Crud, I was wanting one of you two to be a captain, not me. Not after I made such an idiot out of myself during season two."

"Don't worry yourself buddy," Cody told him. "You're older and wiser now. Besides, it was _your_ idea that nabbed Duncan, not anything _we_ came up with."

"And we'll be with you every step of the way," Tyler chimed in. "That is, if you'll have us."

Seeing his friends' support and belief in him brought a smile back to the music man's face. "Well then, I guess I'm a captain again," he conceded.

Chris then knelt down to face the captured punk. "And how does that make you feel Duncan?" he asked in a taunting voice. "You, an ex-con taken down by three dudes who weren't afraid to cross-dress if it'd been necessary."

"Shut. It. McLean." Duncan said through gritted teeth.

"That reminds me," Cody piped up. He too knelt down so he could face Duncan and jabbed him in both eyes with his fingers. "That's for trapping us and drawing on our faces," he said.

Tyler would quickly follow suit by slamming his fist down on the punk's head. "And that's for knocking our heads together and leaving us to a bear," he said.

Trent walked up to Duncan and reached into his shirt. With a victorious smirk, he pulled out the necklace that had been stolen from him. "Thank you," he grinned. "And this is for cheating on Courtney during Total Drama World Tour!" He delivered a swift punch to Duncan's face, strong enough to actually knock him onto his back. Several campers began to gasp, but none were more surprised than a certain two...

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Gwen - "Did he really just do that..."

Courtney - "...For me? Why?"

Trent - "One thing that's always ticked me off about the whole 'Gwuncan' thing, either Courtney or Gwen get all of the blame. A lot of people seem to forget, or deny, that Duncan was the one who walked in on Gwen's confessional and initiated the kiss. Sure, neither girl was exactly an angel during their feud but it never would've happened in the first place if not for him. Instead of having the decency to break up with Courtney like a real man would, he goes behind her back and kisses the only real friend she had on the plane. And he _knew_ how much it would've hurt her. Someone had to call him out on it, even if Gwen did end up dumping him later on.

* * *

Gwen was still standing with her mouth agape when Trent approached her. He took her hand and placed the necklace in it.

"I think it's high time that I give this back," he said kindly. "It's brought me a little bit of luck but I'm positive that it suits you much more."

"W-Wow Trent, thanks," Gwen stuttered. "I-I don't know what to say."

"YOU THREE DERELICTS HAD THE NERVE TO STEAL MY FAVORITE STANDEE?!"

Everyone cringed when Chef Hatchet's voice boomed. Trent turned to see the cook seething with rage and stomping his way to where they were.

"Well then allow me to say this; _arrivederci_!" He quickly took off, leaving the goth girl stunned. "Let's skedaddle fellas!" Cody and Tyler swiftly joined him as they fled the campgrounds, with Chef hot on their tail firing meatballs at them.

Chris chuckled as the camera diverted its focus back onto him.

"Well, I can say that today's been eventful," he announced. "We've got our two captains; one an uptight and crabby future lawyer, the other a passionate modern day bard! Who will they choose for their teams? The only to find out is on the next gloriously action and adventure filled episode of...Total! Drama! Once Again!

* * *

The final scene that was shown took place during the night. Trent, Cody and Tyler were shown slumping against a tree, all three of them dripping in sweat and out of breath.

"I thought that he'd never give up," Tyler groaned. "My track coach could take lessons from that guy!"

"Seriously Trent," Cody wheezed. "Let's not involve Chef or any of his stuff in your future plans, agreed?"

"Agreed," Trent panted. The trio helped each other up when the sound of a twig being stepped on caused them to jump.

"He's back!" Tyler shouted. "He probably just went back to get more ammo!"

"You can all relax," a voice spoke up, the person to whom it belonged emerging into view. "Chef is back in his kitchen at camp. He won't come after you again tonight but he did say he wants to talk to you tomorrow."

Cody and Tyler looked fearful at the revelation while Trent appeared more curious. "Something tells me that's not the only reason you're out here," he told the person. "Is there anything you want to talk about...Courtney?" The CIT stepped closer and nodded. "Yes," she replied. "Yes there is."

* * *

 _ **End of Episode 1**_

* * *

Finally it's finished! I really must apologize to you all for the wait and thank you for your patience. I had hoped this to be the last chapter of 2015 but with snowstorms, power outages and holiday madness, it's now the first chapter of 2016. Happy New Year btw!

And our two team captains have officially been decided; **Courtney Sonia O'Connor** and **Trenton Bruce Crocetti**. For those of you who are fans of trivia, both their middle names and surnames reference famous people. In fact, this will be something I'll do at the end of every episode but starting with the next one, it will be the eliminated camper to have their full name (according to my headcanon) revealed.

Trent and Courtney may be captains but please rest assured; this in no way guarantees either one of them a spot in the finale.

This chapter turned out to be a lot longer than I originally thought which means that following episodes will most likely just be one chapter instead of two. As it is there were numerous scenes and interactions I cut because I didn't want to split the episode into three parts. I didn't want to do the montage initially but I feel better about it now as I finish this. And besides, how montages take place in the actual show?

Once I put this up I will also put up a poll as to whether or not this series should have a theme song sequence. The only reason why I'm hesitant to do so is because they do tend to spoil certain things, particularly couples. However, I've decided that's it up to you; can you handle certain aspects of this story being spoiled or would you prefer it not be that way. Please be sure to vote.

I honestly have no idea when I will have the next chapter done but I will start on it as soon as I can. Here's a little tidbit; the challenge is all about ice hockey to go along with the wintry weather going on in the real world.

So please review I implore you; what did you like about this chapter? What did you dislike? What do you think will happen in the future, specifically who Courtney and Trent will choose for their teams and why? Who do you believe the next cameo will be? Review because I promise to respond to every one of them via PM which is something I should've done last time.

As for now I bid you all adieu and hope to see you next chapter! Later!


	3. Episode 2, Part 1

Greetings everyone! I'd like to apologize for how long it's taken me to update this story. Unfortunately between school and getting a new job, I haven't had as much time as I'd like to write. Getting a bad case of writer's block didn't help much either. To all who reviewed, is now following this story and added it to their favorites, I thank you with the utmost sincerity. If I have not replied to your reviews I am sorry but I would like to respond to one in particular right now.

FOWLKON: Wow I don't think I've ever had someone leave three reviews for just one chapter. I'm not complaining though, because of it my count is nearing forty. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much. B and Dawn are already good friends and since Beardo has a few things in common with the former, I figured that him befriending them both was only natural. Yes Courtney is according to Fresh TV of Hispanic origin but given her first name and the fact that she lacks any noticeable accent, she strikes me as being half-Caucasian so when coming up with her middle and last names, I went with two very famous women in US politics; Sandra Day O'Connor and Sonia Sotomayor. However since you were the only one who actually bothered to say anything about that, I won't be doing it again since it didn't seem all that popular.

One thing I'd also like to bring up is not too long ago, an author by the moniker of NickieMudkip had the audacity to not only plagiarize my work, but also the work of Fangren. Had it not been for Animation Adventures letting Fangren know, who in turn let me know, they could've gotten away with it. Plagiarism is not cool. At all. NickieMudkip, you've brought great shame onto the name of an awesome Pokémon.

Lastly, (at least until the end of the chapter where I'll probably have more to say) the poll regarding whether or not this story should have a theme song sequence will be kept open until the fourth chapter. So far out of six voters, four are in favor while two are opposed. If you aren't one of those six, I implore you, let your voice be heard!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

* * *

 _ **Episode 2: Do You Wanna Build A Snow Team?, Part 1**_

* * *

The episode began with a shot of Boney Island, which appeared to have been covered almost entirely with snow. Standing on the island's docks was host Chris McLean, wearing a thick, white parka to shield him from the weather.

"Last time, on Total Drama Once Again!" he announced as a montage of contestants arriving in the previous episode began to play. "Twenty-six campers from all three generations have been brought back to fan-favorite location Boney Island to endure painful humiliation, humiliating pain and each other, all for another shot at fifteen minutes of fame and a _huge_ cash prize!"

"With such a big gaggle of kids this time around, new friendships and rivalries happened almost instantly!" A scene of Anne Maria comforting Lindsay was shown, with a scene of Eva and Jo smirking respectfully at one another immediately followed. "But as the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same." Clips of Gwen glaring at Courtney, Lightning threatening Cameron and Dave refusing to talk to Sky appeared in quick succession.

"Our first challenge took the kids out into the woods where several fell victim to various traps, wild animal attacks and Chef just being Chef." Staci was shown hanging in a net before being shot by the cook's spaghetti cannon.

"In the end, it was Courtney's determination and Trent's cleverness that allowed them to nab the wildest and most elusive prey we could get; Izzy and Duncan." Shots of the psycho wrapped up in a vine and the criminal being frightened by the Celine Dion cutout were played.

"As you can see, this episode will have _chills_ , which will bring _thrills_! Who knows? Maybe someone will even be _killed_!" The host was interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ringing. Pulling it out of his coat pocket, he rolled his eyes when the read the caller ID.

"Lawyers," he complained. "I was just kidding for Pete's sake!" He smirked as he faced the camera once more. "Mostly kidding anyway," he grinned. "Who will Courtney and Trent choose for their teams? And just what kind of challenge can be had in this wondrous, wintry weather? Let's all find out here! On Total! Drama! Once...Again!"

* * *

 _*theme song plays*_

* * *

It had been three days since the first challenge of the newest season and nearly every camper was still asleep in bed, most shivering due to the sudden extreme drop in temperature.

One such camper was Jasmine, who had opted to spend the night indoors as opposed to on a tree branch as she normally did. What had made the night colder for her than everyone else was her long legs hanging over the edge of her bunk exposed. Eventually, she rose to look for any spare blankets and quickly saw that she wasn't the only one awake.

"Sammy?" she mumbled groggily. "Mate, what are you still doing up?"

The nice twin had been meticulously looking through a book with a flashlight when Jasmine woke and was slightly startled when her name was spoken.

"Sorry Jasmine," she whispered, closing the book and turning the light off. "I just wanted to make sure Amy hadn't ripped any pages out or wrote over anything."

"Has she?" Jasmine asked to which the cheerleader shook her head. "That's good. I bet tomorrow we'll find at least one more for sure."

"I really hope so," Sammy replied, though her expression appeared doubtful. "I just can't shake the feeling that we found this one too easily and that Amy will have us on a wild goose chase looking for the others."

Jasmine snorted before getting up from her bunk and walking over to her friend. "You're giving your sister way too much credit," she said placing a hand on her shoulder. "She wouldn't be able to think _that_ far ahead." A small laugh was exchanged between the two before Jasmine went on. "Trust me, if anything hampers our search tomorrow, it'll only be the snow."

"Or the challenge Chris thought of that involves it," Sammy added with a sigh. "Whatever it is, it won't be anything like a simple snowball fight."

"All the more reason for you to get your rest Sammy," Jasmine told her giving her a gentle pat on the back. "Just try to relax, okay?"

The nice twin nodded. "Okay, thanks Jasmine," she replied.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Sammy - "Before Amy and I left home to come back onto the show, she discovered and stole five journals that I've been keeping over the years. _*She holds up the book she had been inspecting before the camera*_ Writing into them has been a good way for me to vent when Amy _really_ gets to be too much. Some of them are just like any other journal entries but others were times I tried writing poems or short stories. The second entry in my last journal, the twenty-sixth entry overall, is all about a secret that I _cannot_ let Amy go and blab to everyone about!"

* * *

A few hours later everyone was up and groaning and grumbling as they shuffled into the mess hall for breakfast. While most kids would be excited at the prospect of having some fun in the snow, those who had experienced the horrors of Total Drama knew better. There was no way snow could be fun as long as Chris McLean was around.

"Waiter! Evil demands nourishment! Evil needs warm Belgian waffles! With syrup!" Max was at the front of the line, childishly pounding his fist on the counter while holding an empty tray with his other hand. As much as he annoyed the people who were unfortunate enough to be behind him, the person behind the counter was even more irritated at his demands.

"Dude for the hundredth time, there are no waffles!" Tyler snapped as he plopped a bowl of white gruel onto his tray. "There weren't any yesterday and there _won't_ be any tomorrow! If you don't like it then you can take it up with Chef!"

The self-proclaimed super villain turned his nose up at this as he went to go sit down. "Are all food service workers as grouchy as you?" he sniffed. The jock glared at him as he left before being greeted by someone who offered a much more sympathetic look.

"How is it going Tyler?" Dawn asked kindly. "Has Chef been treating you boys any better today?"

Tyler opened his mouth but was quickly cut off by the sound of irate shouting.

"Consarnit shrimp boy! I said not to leave a single piece of skin on these spuds! Now do it right before I skin you!"

Dawn frowned. "Never mind, it would seem my question just answered itself," she said. "Poor Cody."

"Actually that _was_ better than yesterday considering he chased the little guy around with a peeler then," Tyler said. "Still, it's better than the job Trent will have to do if he loses again."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Trent - "Okay so apparently Chef wasn't all too happy with us using his things to trap Duncan a few days ago. When we finally went back to camp that night he sentenced us to KP duty, indefinitely. We eventually managed to work out a deal with him; if I can beat him in any kind of game, he lets us go. Unfortunately though, I haven't had much luck."

Jo - "KP duty? Ha! What morons to get stuck with that! I sure as heck don't envy them!"

Brick - "KP duty? How lucky they are to get such an honor! Boy, do I envy them!"

* * *

Chef Hatchet was now sitting at a table inside the kitchen, a small table with three paper cups on it standing before him. Trent stood on the other side of it, holding up a small coin.

"All right Chef," the music man said confidently. "This one's gonna be quick. Unless you choose the cup that's covering my buffalo nickel, then my friends and I walk free."

"Just hurry it up mop top," the cook said impatiently. "There's mouse traps that need to be set and I ain't gonna be the one setting them!" Trent nodded and placed the nickel underneath the middle cup before cracking his knuckles.

Cody, who was sitting in a corner peeling potatoes for the second time that morning, looked worried. "Trent are you sure about this?" he asked his friend. "This is the fourth game you've challenged him to and you haven't come close to winning once!"

Trent calmly waved the geek off. "Just relax pal," he replied. "My granddad was a master at this. No matter how many times my uncles played him he always managed to win, and I learned by watching them play."

"Get on with it already!" Chef barked. Trent flinched before quickly shifting the cups around at a frenzied pace. His hands were moving quite fast, too fast for Cody to keep track of the cup housing the coin. After about nine seconds, he stopped and stepped back so Chef could make his choice.

Without so much as a blink the cook pointed to the cup on the left. Trent lifted it up and to his dismay saw that the nickel was indeed there.

"How did you-?" he began to ask but was cut off by a large sack being thrown at him.

"Quit your gabbing and get to work!" Chef ordered. "I don't wanna see a single living mouse in this kitchen! I already got enough vermin to deal with now that you kids are here lousing up the place!"

Trent sighed and nodded before pulling a mousetrap out of the sack. "Yes sir."

Back out in the dining area, many campers were huddled over the bowls of gruel, trying to eat as much as they could before it froze in spite of the horrible taste.

Dave held up a spoonful and shuddered before placing it into his mouth. He quickly spat it back out and moaned. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss having to forage for food!" he complained.

"Well, maybe the team that wins will be treated to a better meal," a voice suggested nervously. Dave scowled as he knew who the voice belonged to and turned around to see Sky holding her tray and wearing an uneasy look.

"Would it be okay if I sat here?" she asked. Dave scoffed and turned back around. "Funny, I could've sworn I just heard the sound of a hyper competitive manipulator," he said.

Sky's shoulders drooped as she walked away. "Never mind," she said quietly. She quickly felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Dawn standing next to her, offering her a small smile.

"Would you like to sit with my friends and I?" the moonchild asked. She gestured to a couple tables over where Beardo was mimicking a sea lion's bark while attempting to balance his bowl still half full of gruel on his nose. B was next to him attempting to place his own bowl on top of the hairy boy's forehead when he took notice of both girls and waved for them to come over.

Sky managed to smile a little at this. "Yeah I, I'd like that," she said. "Thank you Dawn."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Sky - "I guess I really shouldn't be all that surprised that Dave doesn't want to talk to me. Not after everything that happened during last season's finale. Needless to say my friends and family back home weren't all too proud of how I acted. Keith said he never wanted to speak to me again and...I'd be lying if I said I blamed any of them. _*She sighs and casts a forlorn look downward.*_

* * *

The campers' breakfast was soon interrupted by the screeching sound of the intercom coming alive.

"Attention everyone!" Chris announced. "If you think the weather is bad, today's challenge is gonna be ten times worse!" Everyone could hear his evil chuckle reverberate. "At least! Mealtime is officially over and ouch-time has officially begun! Everyone meet me at the Cave of Treacherous Terror so the team selection can commence!"

Everyone began to complain at this but nonetheless began to exit the mess hall, not wanting to be punished by Chris for being late.

As Lightning began to jog his way out, he quickly ended up tripping and falling to the floor. "Sha-ow!" he moaned. Picking himself up he saw that a foot sticking out from a table had been the cause of this.

"Oops," Eva said insincerely. "Excuse _you."_ As she and Jo shared a smirking look, Lightning stood up to his full height and glared at her.

"Oh you do _not_ want to mess with me girl," the uber-jock warned. "The Lightning ain't afraid of you like the rest of these wimps."

The bodybuilder stood up and cracked her knuckles. "Is that so?" she asked. "Well I would be more than happy to fix that for you."

She and Lightning exchanged a heated look before the latter scoffed and stormed his way out the door. Eva crossed her arms smugly but soon saw that Jo was looking at her incredulously.

"Okay what the heck?" the blonde questioned in an annoyed voice. "That idiot thought I was a guy for weeks but knew that _you_ were a girl?"

"And just what do you mean by _that_?" her fellow tomboy asked. When Jo didn't answer straight away, she simply rolled her eyes.

"What I don't get is why you care so much," she said now making her way to the door. "If I didn't know better I'd think that you actually like him or something."

"Are you kidding?" Jo replied as she got up from her seat. "I can't think of anything more painful than being around _him_ every day!"

A piercing snap was quickly heard followed by a wail of pain.

"YEEEEEE-OWWWWW! SWEET MOTHER HUBBARD THAT HURTS!"

"Yeah, I think Trent might disagree with you on that one," Eva said.

A short time later, all the campers were standing in the snow and gathered before a large cave. It wasn't long before Chris had driven up on a snowmobile, still dressed in his parka.

"Good morning winter _teens_!," he greeted with a dark smile. "Hope you're all enjoying the...Wait. What?" He paused his speech once he noticed what the contestants were wearing. Much to his surprise, everyone was dressed warmly for the weather as he was, garbed in coats, hats, scarves, boots and mittens.

Chris's smile vanished nearly instantly and was replaced with an irritated frown. "Okay, how come none of you are starting to suffer from frostbite right now?" he asked.

Gwen smirked. "An anonymous tip was included in the mail packages our contracts came in," she replied. "It said to be prepared for a challenge involving harsh weather conditions early on into the season."

The host gaped in disbelief. "Wha? Are you serious?" Several of the campers nodded to confirm what Gwen had said. The host's brow furrowed. "Who? Who is it that's trying to ruin my fun?!"

"Right as if we know," Scott sneered. "You are aware of what the term _anonymous_ means, aren't ya Chris?"

Chris growled and childishly stomped his foot. "Whoever's responsible for this is _so_ gonna befired," he said.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Chris, he was being watched by the very people in question. In a room where several monitors were located two interns were watching their boss pouting at not getting his way.

One of them was the same one who had driven Chris around the previous episode; a young man with unkempt, wavy brown hair and a goatee wearing a green shirt and glasses. Besides him was a young woman with long red hair who also wore glasses and a similar shirt, though hers was yellow.

The two of them shared a fist bump before the boy spoke up, "Think he's gonna find out it was us Pippa?"

Pippa, as she was now known, snorted. "Oh please JT, just because he was able to oust Topher doesn't mean he'll catch onto us," she replied. "Not as long as everyone remembers to keep their mouths shut."

JT nodded. "True, true," he agreed. "So when should we get started on the next plan?"

"I'd say to give it a few days," Pippa said. "Just to be on the safe side."

* * *

Chris disappointedly shrugged. "Oh well, there's more than one way to freeze a camper," he mused. "But first, we have a little pre-challenge matter to take care of. Courtney, Trent, if you could join me up here please?"

The two winners of the first challenge and as soon as Chris saw one of them, his impish grin began to form again. "Hahaha, love the new earmuffs Trent," he said mockingly.

Apparently Trent had somehow managed to end up with a mousetrap snagged on not one but _both_ of his ears before leaving the kitchen. While he had managed to get them off and bandages over his ears, he did not appear happy about it in the least.

"Not funny man," he said flatly. "Not funny."

Courtney was giving him a curious look. "How did that even happen to you?" she asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Trent answered.

"Aw don't be like that now," Chris said walking up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I mean, the bandaged look's not the kind of style _I'd_ wear, but they look good on you!" He then proceeded to poke Trent's right ear, which immediately caused him to recoil and hiss in pain.

"Aaahh! Dude!"

While many of Trent's fellow competitors offered him sympathetic looks, Chris heartily laughed at the music man's misfortune. "Man that is just the kinda thing to brighten my day!" he said cheerfully.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cameron - "Is it me, or does Chris seem even more sadistic than he used to be? After the last few seasons, I didn't really think that was possible. Could be trying to test just how cruel he can get or something? That's not the kind of experiment I'd like to take part in."

* * *

Gwen watched as Trent pulled his red chullo out of his coat pocket and put it on so his ears were no longer exposed to any further damage.

"Aw geez, I hope he'll be okay," she said. She then realized that someone was particularly close to her, giving her a rather odd look. "Something on your mind Sierra?"

"Just wondering when you two are going to get back together," she replied while holding Cody close to her, the geek being too tired from Chef's chores to try to resist.

Gwen's eyes widened in shock. "What? Where'd you get an idea like that?"

"The other day silly-willy," the obsessive girl said in a chipper tone. "When he gave you your necklace back! You can't expect me to believe you didn't feel anything when he did that!"

"Uh I felt pretty happy to get my favorite necklace back," Gwen said, growing uncomfortable from Sierra's expectant look. "But that's pretty much it."

"You can't be serious!" Sierra protested, unconsciously squeezing her hold on Cody. "Do you have any idea how long the Gwent shippers have been waiting for a reunion between you guys? A moment like that's the perfect beginning to it!"

Gwen began to slowly back away from the taller girl, growing more and more disturbed by her enthusiasm.

"That's," she hesitated for a moment. "That's a nice thought Sierra, but Trent and I are just friends. I'm sure that if he had meant anything more than that, he would've said so the other day. Also, Cody's turning purple."

Sierra blinked in confusion and turned to look to her captive whose face had in fact changed color. The fangirl gasped as she immediately loosened her grip.

"Codykins?!" she cried. Are you okay sweetheart?! Say something! Anything!"

"jIHvaD HoH," the geek wheezed before collapsing onto the ground.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Gwen - "I'll admit that I thought what Trent did was sweet but I'm not so narcissistic as to think that he still has feelings for me. We broke up a long time ago, I moved on and so did he, right? _*She appears slightly unsure*_ Right?"

* * *

"All right people!" Chris called the campers attention to him. "As it was done back in TDA, the team selections will be done schoolyard style! I need all the ladies over _here_ on my left by Trent," he gestured to where the music man was standing. "And all the dudes need to be over _here_ on my right by Courtney." He then motioned to where the former CIT was. "Everybody move!"

Once all the teens had followed his orders, Chris had fished a coin out of his pocket. "Time to determine who gets the first pick," he said before flipping it in the direction of the new captains. It flew a fair distance before hitting Courtney square in the throat. "Ow! Chris!"

"Hey, that's the same stunt you pulled on the last day of Pahkitew Island!" Shawn observed, having remembered when he had been hit in the eye.

"It sure is!" the host swelled with pride. "Since it was not something nice, I felt compelled to do it twice!" He paused to snicker. "In any case, it looks like it'll be ladies first. So Courtney, which of these gentlemen, and I use the term _extremely_ loosely, will you select as your first pick?"

Lighting crossed his arms smugly. " Man, please! Obviously bossy girl's gonna pick the sha-best dude first," he said.

"Quite right," Max spoke up. "It would be in her best interests to choose the most intelligent, undaunted and _handsome_ one of us. That would mean only _I_ could be the natural choice."

An awkward silence followed the purple-haired boy's statement before a good number of the campers busted out laughing, none more so than Scott and Lightning. Such amusement left Max unamused who frowned and placed his hands on his hips.

"And just what do you peons find so funny?" he asked.

"Sha-you!" Lightning answered giving the shorter boy a noogie. "You sha-think you're the best man here? Kid you ain't even a man! You're more like a...a man-baby!"

"Heh! Nah, I know what he is," Scott said with a sneer. "He's just a little troll that wandered too far away from his cave!"

The two started to laugh even harder, not having noticed Max's fists start to shake with anger.

"You odious swine!" he shouted. "You _dare_ to mock the greatest evil the world has ever known?! You shall rue this day!"

Scott stopped laughing as he looked down at Max unimpressed. "One, you are _not_ evil troll boy," he said. "And two, we don't even _have_ to mock you, you do enough of that on your own."

"That is the last straw!" Max yelled, trying to stand up to the farmer. "That just cost you, Scott! Now you _shall_ never know the joys of being _my_ evil sidekick!"

Scott and Lightning could only share an incredulous look.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Max - "Clearly this is the most disappointing thing Scott has ever heard in his pathetic life. Why else would he be so quiet?

Scott - "Yeah, I'd sooner make out with one of the mules back home than work with _that_ idiot."

Lightning - "Man! Does that guy _ever_ put a sha-sock in it?"

* * *

 _"A-hem!"_

The boys' small feud was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Eyes turned on Courtney, her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently.

"If the three of you are done, I'd like to make my first choice," she said, pointing to her ex-boyfriend. "Scott."

The devious redhead shrugged and made his way over to where Courtney stood. "It's your funeral hot stuff," he told her.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "Was he being flirtatious or facetious? Well, I guess it doesn't really matter right now. My feelings for him aside, Scott's made it to the final four _twice_! Considering he was being stalked by a mutant shark that's really saying something!

* * *

"And Courtney chooses the boy she stabbed in the back despite his complete and total devotion to her," Chris declared earning him an irritated look from the former CIT.

"What? I never let anyone live anything down on this show, especially not when it can boost ratings! Speaking of which," he turned over to Trent. "Mr. Number Nine, time to pick your first girl! Just _who_ will it be I wonder?" He let out a sly chuckle.

Trent was scanning the female campers, scratching his head as he thought. "That's a good question," he said. "So many of them have such great skills, it's kinda hard to decide."

This response elicited a surprised look from the host, as well as many of the campers on both sides.

"Dude, are you being serious right now?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, why?" Trent replied. He then noticed all the skeptical eyes that were aimed at him. "What?"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Sierra - "Trent's more than likely just playing it up for the cameras. I mean, come on! Who else would he even think about choosing other than Gwen? She herself might be in denial but I _know_ he wants her back. He's been in three relationships in the past year and not one lasted more than a couple months! Why? Because he still loves Gwen! Duh!"

Jo - "Guitar Zero better hurry up and just pick Gothball already. It's _freezing_ out here for Pete's sake!"

Gwen - "I hope he does pick me. _*Her eyes widen in realization.*_ Because he's my _friend_ and I don't wanna be on Courtney's team, obviously! I refuse to let what Sierra said get in my head, Trent does _not_ still feel something for me!

* * *

"I choose Sky," Trent finally said, once again astonishing several of the campers.

"You want me on your team?" the gymnast asked. "Why?"

"You're kidding right?" was the musician's responses. "You're fast, agile, friendly, and your belches put Owen's to shame! Seriously, can you teach me how burp like that?"

Taken aback by the compliments, Sky hesitated before walking up and joining him. "Thanks Trent, I don't what to say."

"You could say that you _will_ teach me," Trent offered. "Please? Just once I'd like to show Owen up whenever he has a soda chugging contest at one of his parties."

Sky couldn't help but smile and laugh at such an odd request from the musician. "Okay, okay."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Sky - "I know that he's probably just being nice the way Dawn and the others were earlier, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it. I've gotta remember to thank all of them later."

Courtney - "Aside from the gross belching thing, Trent brought up some good points on why I kinda wanted Sky to be on _my_ team. _*She sighs.*_ But if I'm being honest then it's probably better this way. Sky still seems to have a lot of issues concerning Dave and although I do feel bad for her, I've got my _own_ problems to worry about."

Gwen - "Well, I can't say that I saw that coming."

Trent - "Owen, you best be prepared big guy! Next party you throw, I _am_ gonna beat you so you better have the soda pop ready!"

* * *

"Er, right," Chris said slowly, still taking in what had just happened. "Courtney, time for you to pick a girl."

Courtney grimaced as she looked over to her fellow females, none of which looked all too eager to be selected, Gwen making it a point of scowling at her. She then peered over to Trent who was looking at her expectantly.

"Why are they staring at each other like that?" Sammy whispered up to Jasmine, who could only offer a shrug in reply.

"Sometime this century Courtney!" the host said hurriedly, tapping his watch. "We _are_ on a schedule here, and I don't wanna waste any time you kids could spend crying out in pain!"

"All right already!" Courtney snapped. She then let out a heavy sighed and pointed over to the girls. "I just _know_ I will regret this, but I choose Sierra."

"Really?" the uber-fan asked in confusion. "Why me?"

"I've got my reasons okay?!" Courtney replied rather hastily. "Just get over here!"

Startled, Sierra uneasily complied and joined Courtney and Scott.

Trent grinned once it was his turn again. "Since I've gotta choose a guy this time, who better than my best pal?" he said. "Cody, you're on my team."

"Yes!" The tech geek cheered as he ran over to his friend's side, both boys jumping up and bumping chests.

"NOOOOO!" Sierra cried out dramatically. She dropped to her knees and immediately began bawling, causing Courtney and Scott to cover their ears in annoyance. "Codykins and I on different teams? Say it isn't so!"

"Oh but it _is_ so," Chris said smirking. "And I believe I'll go ahead and say now, that there will be absolutely _no_ team swaps this season! None! I hope that doesn't bother you Sierra."

Sierra sniffed and then began to sob even louder.

Scott leered at Courtney. "Oh real smart move picking her, _captain_ ," he said sarcastically. "What exactly were those reasons you mentioned earlier? They better have been good ones!"

"Oh, get over it!" Courtney shot back. "What's done is done! I choose Brick next by the way!"

The cadet enthusiastically marched over to his new captain and greeted her with a salute. "Private Brick MacArthur, happy to be of service ma'am!"

"Wonderful," Courtney replied before pointing down to Sierra. "Then your first order is getting _her_ to calm down!"

Though not expecting such a command, the cadet nodded and crouched down to Sierra's level. "There, there miss," he said gently. "Everything will be alright."

"No it won't!" Sierra angrily replied, surprising Brick and causing him to fall down onto his bottom. "Don't you understand?! Cody and I are separated! Things will never be alright again!"

"Um...can't you still see him before and after challenges though?" Brick cautiously asked.

Sierra blinked before quickly breaking out into a Cheshire grin. "You're right!" she shouted elatedly. "I _can_! Eeeeeee!"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Scott - "Ugh! I've met pigs that don't squeal that loud! It was better when she was crying!"

Cody - _*Facepalms.*_ "I was honestly hoping no one would remind her about that. Brick, what did I ever do you? Now thinking about telling her what happened in Toronto is _bound_ to be harder!"

* * *

"Gotta give Courtney props on that one, Brick's a good choice," Trent observed. "But I can think of one that's just as good if not better, Jasmine."

The survivalist smiled as she joined her new team. "Thanks for thinking of me mate," she said. "Great to be here!" She clapped him on the back, accidentally knocking him into the snow as she did so. "Oops...sorry!"

Trent picked himself up and dusted the snow of his jacket. "No worries, I'm good!"

Courtney looked nervous as she swallowed a lump in her throat before making her next choice. "Gwen," was all she said.

The goth immediately opened her mouth to protest but Chris managed to cut her off. "I don't wanna hear it Gwen," he said. "She said your name, you're on her team, now deal with it."

Suffice to say, Gwen looked none too pleased. She headed over to Courtney's group with a grim look cast at nearly everyone, especially the person who could have recruited her but had chosen not to.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Gwen - "It's official, the universe condemned my life the minute I signed on for Total Drama. _*She lets out a frustrated cry.*_ I just don't get it! Why wouldn't Trent want me on his team? I thought things were good between us!"

Trent - "It's not as if I _didn't_ Gwen on my team. I mean, come on why wouldn't I? But, something happened..."

* * *

 **(Flashback)**

Three days ago, after having been chased around Boney Island for hours, Trent, Cody and Tyler finally trudged their way back to the campgrounds, exhausted and eager for bed. One of them however, had something to discuss with a fellow camper before doing anything else.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Trent asked Courtney as he took a seat on the porch of the boy's cabin.

"The team selections before the next challenge," Courtney replied promptly. "I want to know what I need to do to ensure that you won't choose Gwen for your team."

The musician raised a brow in surprise. "You're actually willing to work out a deal over this?" he asked. "Why not just pick her from the start before I get the chance?"

The CIT shook her head. "I'm not willing to take that risk," she said. "Especially if how it goes is the same as it was the last time the teams had official captains. I need an absolute guarantee, so what can I do to get one?"

Trent appeared apprehensive. "Are you sure that having her on your team is really a good idea?" he asked. "I mean, forgive me for being blunt but, she pretty much hates you Courtney. You really hurt her."

" _Don't you think I know that?!"_ Courtney practically screeched, startling Trent who began to back away a little. Courtney noticed this and looked towards the ground, upset. A deep silence then followed, neither camper moving or saying so much as a word.

When Trent finally felt brave enough to stand up and approach her, Courtney spoke. "I know that I'm being extremely selfish asking this of you when you don't owe me a thing." Trent stopped dead in his tracks.

"I know that Gwen would be much happier on a team with you than with me but," she went on. "But I can't leave things the way they are! I refuse to!" She whirled around and to Trent's shock, tears could be seen falling down her face.

"Gwen wasn't just _a_ friend, she was the _best_ friend I've had in years so _please_ Trent!" she clasped the musician's hands as she looked up to him. "You're the only one that can help me!"

"You're...you're really serious about this," Trent said slowly. When Courtney nodded, he took a deep breath and gave a nod and a small smile in return. "All right Courtney. I promise I won't choose Gwen, she's all yours."

Courtney let go of his hands and stepped back. "Really?" she asked hopefully. The musician nodded once more and for the first time that night, Courtney smiled.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "What can I do to pay you back for this?"

Trent held up his hands. "You really don't have to do that," he said kindly but Courtney shook her head. "I want to," she told him. "Isn't there anything you need?"

"Well," Trent rubbed his chin in thought. "Not exactly something _I_ need but..."

 **(End of Flashback)**

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Trent - "Courtney agreed that she'd choose Sierra for her team and get her off Cody's back for a while. She kept her word, so it was only fair that I keep mine. I know there are plenty of reasons as to why I _shouldn't_ have trusted her but what can I say? I was raised to always give people the benefit of the doubt and it looks like Courtney's really changed this time."

Courtney - "Well, I managed to choose Scott _and_ Gwen for my team. Too bad that was the _easy_ part though."

* * *

Once Gwen was among her new teammates, Courtney tentatively opened her mouth to say something but one glare from the goth was all it took for her to close it again. The others around them couldn't help but shift around uncomfortably, not wanting to get involved.

"Uh...right. It's my turn again," Trent said awkwardly. He turned over to the boys' side and worked out a grin. "Tyler buddy, come on up."

The jock pumped in fists in celebration. "Whoo! Place at the table!" he cheered running over to his new captain with his hand raised for a high-five. Unfortunately, Trent wasn't ready by the time Tyler got there and ended up getting smacked in the face. Even with Tyler's glove cushioning the blow, it still had plenty of force behind it.

Everyone on Trent's team winced as their captain covered up his face in pain. Tyler could only sheepishly rub his arm in embarrassment. "My bad bro," he apologized.

Chris, being Chris, impishly laughed at the sight. "Two teammates in a row causing you bodily harm," he observed. "You sure know how to pick 'em music man. Courtney, I hope for the ratings' sake you make a similar choice. Who'll be the next dude on your team?"

"Thankfully someone who I'm sure _won't_ be doing anything like that," Courtney replied unamused. "Cameron."

"Sha-what?" Lightning exclaimed. "Him? Why?"

The bubble boy's eyes went wide in fear. "Me?" he squeaked.

"You're one of the smartest players in the game this season," Courtney remarked. "Having a mental edge over the other team's just as important as having a physical one."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cameron - "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be on team with the likes of Brick and Gwen again. But with Courtney, Scott _and_ Sierra on the same team the bad definitely outweighs the good right now!"

* * *

As Cameron nervously walked over to his new team, the host turned to see that someone else had already joined Trent's.

"Dawn, what are you doing over there?" Chris asked with a frown. "Trent hasn't said anyone's name yet. Get back in line!"

"I'm sorry Chris but I was only trying to save some time," Dawn said calmly. "I could see in Trent's aura that I was his next selection and I must say," she turned to look up at him, "thank you for thinking so highly of my abilities. I'll be sure to do my best."

"She's right man," Trent said before the host could object. "She _was_ the next person I had in mind." He looked down towards the moonchild and smiled. "Happy to have you with us Dawn."

Chris rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Whatever, let's just keep this gravy train rolling! Courtney?"

"Eva," was the succinct response. The bodybuilder simply shrugged and walked over, taking a spot next to Gwen. "You look mad," she told the goth.

"We're on a team with _Courtney_ ," Gwen replied. "I'm surprised that _you_ aren't mad."

"I'm always mad," Eva said. "Besides, push comes to shove, we _can_ just vote her out you know."

Gwen's brows shot up in surprise. "Oh, right," she said in realization. "...guess I forgot about that."

"And people say _I_ have issues," Eva muttered under her breath. Though Gwen heard had her, she decided not to comment on it.

Trent was looking at who among the boys was still available when he felt someone tapping around.

"Something wrong Jasmine?" he asked the Australian.

"Well no, not really," she replied. "I was just wondering if, well if you wouldn't mind..."

"Picking Shawn?" Trent finished for her. Jasmine nodded with a bashful smile to which Trent grinned. "Of course!" he said waving the conspiracy theorist to come up.

Shawn tiredly made his way over to his new team and held out his hand for Trent to shake.

"Thanks man," he said hoarsely. "I'll be sure to...be sure to..." he stopped to sneeze, causing Trent to duck to avoid getting sprayed.

"Sorry," Shawn sniffed. Jasmine frowned as she walked over to her boyfriend, casting him a stern look.

"Shawn, I thought that we agreed we'd be better off spending the night _inside_ ," she said. "Did you really spend _all_ night out in the freezing cold?"

The conspiracy theorist nervously twiddled his thumbs under her gaze. "My research over whether or not zombies' blood freezes in weather like this wasn't conclusive so I didn't want to chance it," he replied. "Besides, I _was_ bundled up."

Jasmine crossed her arms as her expression changed from disapproving to flat out angry, causing Shawn to flinch right before sneezing again.

"Aw, c'mon Jas, there _are_ worse ways and places to spend the night," he tried to defend himself. "It's not like I was out on the streets of _Jersey_ or anything."

He was then swiftly pelted in the back of the head by a snowball. Trent and Jasmine turned over to the girls' side to see that Anne Maria had been the culprit.

"Say dat again Grungy!" she shouted holding a second snowball up. "I _dare_ ya!"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Shawn - "Jasmine's worried about nothing. I've made sure my immune system is an impenetrable barrier against any and all kinds of disease. Those were just regular sneezes, I'm not sick! _*He starts to cough before sneezing a third time.*_

Anne Maria - "Puh. Grungy wouldn't know culture if it hit him in da face."

* * *

"Man, this ridiculous!" Lightning complained. "How come nobody's picked the Lightning yet? Don't any of y'all _want_ your teams to win?"

"That's probably _why_ no one's picked you bicep kisser," Jo quipped as the uber jock was in fact just about to kiss one of his muscles. He stopped and shot the tomboy a heated glare.

"I don't see anyone begging for _you_ to be on their team Jo!" he sniped but his rival merely rolled her eyes.

"Probably because they know that I'd easily make a _better_ leader than either one of them," she replied. "They're _intimidated_ by my prowess. You're just a liability no one wants to put up with."

"Yeah, just sha-keep telling yourself that Miss Deliberate!" the quarterback shot back causing several to raise their brows at what he just said.

"Um Lightning," Cameron hesitantly spoke up. "Are you sure you don't mean to call her _delirious_ or _delusional,_ or something like that?"

Lightning glowered at the bubble boy who immediately ducked behind Gwen.

"Lightning does _not_ need you to be correcting him half-pint!" he growled. "I can-"

 _"ENOUGH!"_

The argument was put to an end when both Courtney and Trent had raised their voices, effectively silencing everyone else.

"We could be here all day with the way you two go at each other," Courtney griped. "If it's the only way to get him to shut up then I choose Lightning!"

"And since it looks like having you two work together would be a _terrible_ idea," Trent chimed in. "Then I will choose Jo."

This appeared to satisfy both athletes who closed their mouths and quietly went to go join their new respective groups. Though they still managed to send irritated looks at one another as they did so.

"Wouldn't it be better if Trent _were_ to let them both be on the other team?" Tyler whispered into Cody's ear. "If they fought with each other during challenges, it'd give _our_ team an advantage."

"Possibly," the geek replied. "But you know Trent's never been the kind to do something like that. Besides, in the long run, this really is better for us."

"How do you figure?" the jock asked.

"Courtney, Scott, Brick, Eva, and now Lightning," Cody counted off his fingers. "All of them are really athletic and with Brick as the exception, _really_ aggressive in a challenge. To add Jo to that would only spell disaster for us. Trent did the smart thing, even if he didn't realize it right away."

"All right, ten more to go, let's move this along," Chris announced. "Courtney, it's back over to you."

The former CIT looked to the five remaining girls and didn't appear all too enthused with who was left.

Staci was telling yet another of her unconvincing stories, totally oblivious to both Amy and Sammy covering their ears in exasperation. As this was happening, Lindsay and Anne Maria were both fussing with their hair, the former twirling hers around her fingers as the latter applied more hairspray to hers.

Taking in a deep breath, Courtney finally said, "Lindsay is my next choice."

A collective gasp was heard amongst several of the campers. Nearly every one of the campers of the first generation looked to be surprised, the blonde beauty herself especially.

"Me? Really Callie?" she asked walking up to Courtney. "But why? I always thought you hated me."

At hearing Lindsay call her the wrong name, Courtney's right eye began to slightly twitch. Shaking her head in order to get it to stop she replied, "I don't hate you Lindsay. I really _do_ want you on my team."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "Lindsay is both incredibly vapid and irritating, but there's a reason as to why I honestly see her as a valuable asset; people _like_ her. And, as much as it kills me to admit it, that's more than I can say for myself."

* * *

Though still appearing confused, Lindsay nevertheless took a stand next to Brick, Gwen and Cameron, the three not appearing intimidating to her as everyone else on the team.

Trent was about to open his mouth to make his next selection, but paused when he saw that one of his teammates had approached him.

"What's up Sky?" he asked the gymnast.

Sky looked down at the ground, tapping her fingers together. "I was..." she mumbled. "I was hoping that, well since you chose Shawn when Jasmine asked..." she motioned over to Dave.

"You want me to add him to the team too?" he finished for her, to which Sky nodded.

Contrary to his earlier readiness, Trent now appeared hesitant as he bit his lower lip and rubbed the back of his neck before answering.

"I'm sorry Sky but I'm gonna have to say no this time," he told her.

"What? But, but," Sky tried to protest but fell quiet once her captain placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I get where you're coming from," Trent said gently. "Believe me, I do. And that's why I think you two would be better off apart for a little while. You know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Sky nodded in understanding, but still appeared a bit despondent about his decision.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Trent - "That and I can't honestly say that I want the kid on my team. But, it's not like I could tell Sky _that_."

* * *

"Courtney was right earlier," Trent said turning his attention back to teens who had yet to be selected. "A good team needs to have brains _and_ brawn. That makes B the natural choice, seeing as how he's got both."

The silent genius beamed at receiving such praise and greeted Trent as well as several other of his new teammates with a fist bump after walking over to them. He reached Dawn last, who appeared to be the most happy with his inclusion.

"I knew we'd get to work together," she told him brightly. "I read it in my tea leaves yesterday!"

B grinned as he shot two finger pistols in her direction in reply.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Dawn - "Having a friend like B is wonderful. We both know what it's like to ostracized by others because of the way we are. I think why we've managed to stay in touch after Total Drama: Revenge of the Island was over is that even though he _does_ think I'm weird, he thinks its a _good_ thing.

* * *

"Crap! I should've picked B when I had the chance!" Courtney complained, slapping her forehead. She pursed her lips as she studied the remaining four boys, none of them really looking all that impressive to her.

"I guess I'll go with Dave then," she said with a sigh.

"Wow, gee, I feel so loved," the germophobe said dully. He shrugged before walking up to the team. "Still, this _is_ than the alternative I guess."

He stood next to Scott which would prove to be unwise, as the farmer without warning, sneezed right onto him.

"Gah! What is wrong with you?!" Dave shrieked, furiously wiping the snot off of his cheek. "Cover your mouth when you do that!"

"Aw quit being a wuss," Scott sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "If you can't handle one little snot rocket, then you ain't got any chances of getting to the merge, let alone the finale."

"Shush!" Chris shouted. "Save the bickering for the challenge!" He turned over to the over team with an impish smirk. "Trent, time for you to make your next pick. Say, won't this be your _ninth_ choice?"

"It is?" Trent asked, genuinely surprised. "Huh, guess I must've lost track." He gave a simple shrug. "Cool."

Chris's grin faded and was soon replaced with a frown. "'Cool'," he repeated. "Is that really it? Seriously?"

Trent looked confused for a moment before a look of realization came across his face.

"Oh, I get it," he said pounding his fist into his palm. "You were expecting me to have some kind of spasm or freak out when you mentioned nine, right? Ha ha ha, no. I don't do that anymore."

"Well you're no fun anymore," Chris griped. Trent's brow furrowed as his shoulders began to tense up, but a pat on the back from Cody was enough to get him to relax again.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Trent - "That was an advantage to not being on the show for so long; it gave me a chance to talk to people about my...quirks. Look, nine will always be my lucky number, no matter what. But I'm not gonna let it rule my life anymore. I know now that my granddad wouldn't have wanted that."

* * *

"Even so, I think I _should_ make this next choice a good one," the musician said looking at the girls' side, his eyes resting on one in particular.

"Hmmph, well then it's like, totes obvious who you're gonna be choosing then," Amy said smugly, having assumed herself to be the one Trent was looking at. She elbowed her sister before walking up to his team.

"You want someone _intelligent_ ," she said to him. "A _strong_ player. You want the _superior_ twin, am I right?"

"Absolutely," Trent replied before walking right past her and offering his hand to her sister. "Sammy, would you like to be on my team?"

Sammy's eyes widened in shock. " _Me_?" she asked, her mouth agape.

" _Her_?!" Amy screeched. "You're choosing _her_ over _me_?!"

"Yes," Trent calmly replied, not bothering to look at the evil twin. "Yes I am. You coming Sammy?"

The good twin blinked a couple times before breaking out into a warm smile. "Oh em gee, of course I will!" she exclaimed, joining her new captain as he walked back to his group.

Amy stared at them with her mouth agape before she growled and began to kick up snow in a bratty manner. "You are gonna regret that Trent!" she snarled before storming back over to the girls' line. "Nobody snubs me! Do you hear me? _Nobody_!"

"First time for everything cheer _loser_ ," Jo snarked. She gave Trent a light punch on the arm. "Nice one guitar pick. I am officially impressed."

Trent merely chuckled in response, smiling as he saw Sammy receiving kind greetings from Jasmine, Shawn and Sky.

Meanwhile, Courtney was tapping her chin as she pondered who to choose next, when Lindsay came up to her.

"Umm...Colby?" she asked timidly. Once again, Courtney felt her eye twitch in frustration.

"What do you want Lindsay?" she asked curtly.

The blonde beauty swallowed a lump in her throat, recognizing the type A's annoyed tone of voice.

"Well...since you have to pick another girl, do you think that maybe, you could choose Antoinette?"

Courtney opened her mouth and was about to start chastising Lindsay, when she saw several of her teammates looking at her expectantly, Gwen and Scott included.

"Oh...okay," she reluctantly conceded. "I choose Anne Maria."

"Aw yeah!" the Jersey Shore reject cheered, pumping her fist. "It is _about_ time!"

She strutted over, much to Lindsay's delight and gave Courtney a grin. "Thanks Courtney," she said once she reached them. "You ain't too bad, for someone wit such dull taste in clothes."

"Thanks, that means _so_ much," Courtney sarcastically remarked, though the other two girls hadn't noticed having wasted no in beginning to chat.

"And that leaves us down to just five more," Chris remarked. " _Good._ Maybe you guys can finish this up sometime this _century_? I am getting seriously _bored_!"

He was startled when grunting noises began to fill the air. Eyes turned to the boys' side where the source was revealed to be Beardo, who had gotten down onto his hands and knees and had started to oink.

"Yeah, I said _bored_ , not _boar_ Beardo," Chris said dully, though the beatboxer's antics did manage to elicit laughter from a number of the campers. One however, didn't find it funny at all.

"Ugh! Would it _kill_ you to go five minutes without making one of those _stupid_ sound effects of yours?!" Dave yelled harshly. "That's the whole reason you were voted off first last time!"

That outburst was enough for Beardo to stop his boar imitation immediately. Suddenly looking sorrowful, the beatboxer stood up and backed away a little, despite the fact that he wasn't anywhere near Dave in the first place.

"S-Sorry," Beardo murmured sadly, now staring down at his feet.

Several of the campers, (mainly the ones on Trent's team) glared at Dave for such a cruel statement to which the normal guy appeared oblivious to.

Satisfied that it was now much quieter, Dave let out a sigh right before he was hit squarely in the face with a snowball that knocked him right off his feet.

"Ow..." he moaned before sitting back up. "Who threw that?"

"I did," Jasmine replied sternly with her arms crossed. "Because _you_ really need to chill out." She smirked. "Literally." Those that had been glaring at Dave now couldn't help but snicker at the amazon's joke. Dave himself though went right back to looking angry.

"Really though Dave, you need to give the poor guy a break," Trent spoke up as he began to walk over to the dejected beatboxer. "All he's trying to do is have a little fun. And besides," he placed a hand on Beardo's shoulder. "He won't even be on your team, he'll be on _mine_ and can make as many sound effects as he wants."

This caused Beardo to brighten up greatly. "Thanks," he said quietly as he and Trent walked to their team together.

That left just Max and Rodney on the boys' side, the former wearing a rather pompous expression.

"Clearly you shall be the next choice," the 'super-villain' said up the country boy.

"Really?" Rodney asked with his brow raised. "What makes you say that?"

"Simple farm boy, have you never heard of saving the best for last?" Max asked smugly with his hands on his hips. "This was quite obviously Trent's plan from the start, he wants to have the _perfect_ weapon on his side to trounce Courtney's team; _me._ "

This caused both team captains to roll their eyes.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "Max _can_ be smart when it comes to building gadgets but considering I already have Cameron on my team, I don't really need him _or_ that overly inflated ego of his. Rodney's a bit of a space cadet, but those muscles of his look like they could really come through in a challenge. It's an obvious choice.

* * *

"I'll choose-" Courtney began before she was quickly cut off.

"Woman, pick up the pace already!" Max rudely shouted. "My evil little toes are getting cold! If you do not hurry I will _personally_ ensure doom for you and your entire team!"

Courtney pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Max, will you _please_ shut the-"

"And would you look at that," Chris butted in, effectively cutting Courtney off a second time. "Max is the final male to join Courtney's team, which lands Rodney as the last one on Trent's team!"

"What?!" Courtney gaped in shock. "I don't want _him_ on my team! I wanted _Rodney_ but he interrupted me!"

"Too bad for you," Chris said smiling like a Cheshire cat. "You said _Max's_ name first. That's how this whole selection works; the first name you say determines who you get stuck with!"

"You never said that!" Courtney yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at the host. "You're just placing him on my team because you _know_ I don't want him!"

Chris chuckled darkly. "Yeah, since you don't have access to any of the cameras, any evidence you have proving I _didn't_ say that earlier is circumstantial at best law school," he said. "In any case this is _my_ show so captain or not, _I_ still get the last word. Max is all yours."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "I. _Hate_. That. Man. _*She punches the wall of the outhouse.*_

Rodney - "Courtney _wanted_ me? Does this mean? Oh, could it really be?"

* * *

As both boys went to join their respective teams, Trent took the opportunity to choose the last girl for his team before Chris could meddle any further.

"Staci," he said inviting the compulsive liar over with a wave.

Staci ran over to her new team with a smile. "Yah, did you know that teams were invented by my great-great-great-" she was cut off by Trent holding a finger up to her mouth.

"Maybe you could save that for later, okay?" he asked kindly.

"And on that note, Amy's the final member of Courtney's team!" Chris declared, the evil twin crossing her arms and pouting as she stomped over to the group. "Now that that's finally done and over with, time for the team names!" the host continued, pointing at Courtney. "To reflect the name of their captain, I hereby dub team number one, the Loquacious Lions!"

An icon was shown suddenly appearing on the screen, a circle surrounding the head of a red lion with a speech bubble positioned by its open mouth.

" _Loquacious?_ " Courtney asked incredulously. "I am _not-_ "

"Yes you are, get over it," Gwen cut her off with a sour look, quickly causing her former friend to shut her mouth.

"And as for team number two," Chris said now pointing at Trent. "To reflect your captain, you shall now be known as, the Crooning Crickets!"

A second icon then appeared on the screen, this one being a circle surrounding a green cricket with three quarter notes floating above its head.

Chris then glanced at his watch and then scowled. "Unfortunately, it would appear that since you guys took so long, we need to cut to commercial now," he said in annoyance. "You can spend that time getting to the location of today's first challenge, on top of _that_ hill!"

The campers saw the he was pointing to an extremely tall, snow covered mountain causing an eruption of groans and complaints.

"Shut it and get going!" Chris barked before turning to face the camera. "What kind of intense challenges await our newly formed teams? Will they be able to survive them? Better question, can they all survive each other? Heh, when Hell freezes over maybe! Come see what's next on Total...Drama...Once...Again!"

The host was then startled by the ringing of his cell phone.

"Hello?" he answered it. "What do you mean I can't say Hell? People have said in on the network before!"

* * *

 _*Fade to commercial*_

* * *

Four months. Four months I kept you all waiting. Well now you all know I'm not dead. I am so _**VERY SORRY**_ for keeping you guys hanging. Like I said at the beginning of the chapter, life has been keeping me pretty busy. Life can suck.

I realize that Courtney may have appeared a bit OOC during that flashback but please try to keep in mind that this takes place after Pahkitew Island and the Ridonculous Race so she's had plenty of time to think about what she's done. She approached Trent and was willing to open up to him because while they might never have been friends, she knows he's willing to understand what she's doing and not mock her for it. Don't worry though, Courtney will still have plenty of moments of bossiness and temper tantrums.

As before please review as I crave and appreciate them so very much. Tell me in detail what you liked, what you disliked and what you hope to see. All those are a serious help when writing so don't hold back.

I apologize for the lack of action in this chapter but I promise next one will have not one but _two_ challenges where everyone, not just the team captains will get chances to shine. It's just selecting two teams that have thirteen members each turned out to take up more than I first anticipated.

Here's a quick recap of each team.

 **The Loquacious Lions: Courtney, Scott, Sierra, Brick, Gwen, Cameron, Eva, Lightning, Lindsay, Dave, Anne Maria, Max and Amy.**

 **The Crooning Crickets: Trent, Sky, Cody, Jasmine, Tyler, Dawn, Shawn, Jo, B, Sammy, Beardo, Staci and Rodney.**

Until next time everyone, stay frosty. Explorer of the Unknown signing out.

Edit: Crap! Nearly forgot to include my sincerest thanks to both Light of the Dawn and The Prime Writer for serving as my story consultants.

I should also give credit to the Kobold Necromancer, that gag of Tyler hitting Trent in the fact was inspired by Total Drama Comeback where Ezekiel was the one who would get hit.

I should also mention that in a bit of shamelessness, I created an OC based off myself, the intern JT. His fellow intern Pippa was inspired by my Fanfiction bestie, Light of the Dawn. All the interns here are going to be based off of some of my closest acquaintances on this site and as you'll soon see, they're going to be very different from the interns that proceeded them.


	4. Episode 2, Part 2

Surprise! I'm still alive! Once again, I am sincerely sorry for keeping you guys hanging for so long. Trying to overcome writer's block in addition to finding an appropriate time to work on this has proven to be a little harder than I thought but I am determined not to end this story before it can properly take off, especially since the chapter you're about to read is probably the longest one I've ever written for any of my Fanfiction stories. However, before the episode can begin, there are a few things that should be addressed...

Several of you are under the impression that Cody's secret and Sammy's secret are one and the same. I'll go ahead and say right here and now that they have absolutely _**NOTHING**_ to do with each other. While Sammy's secret _**might**_ involve one or two of the original contestants, Cody's secret _**does not**_ involve any girl who's been on Total Drama at all. Sorry to disappoint you but if you really want to know what they're hiding, you'll have to wait a few more episodes.

My poll has been closed for quite awhile and that is because the general consensus is that this story should indeed have a theme song sequence. But since I've never really written anything like that, I've asked Fangren for a little help and was happy when she so graciously agreed. To you my dear lady I tip my hat. That is, I would if I was wearing one...

Lastly, to address a regular reviewer who I could not send a private message to;

FOWLKON (or should I say Guest?): Glad to see that you enjoyed the team selection! To me, the notion of Trent wanting to out-belch Owen isn't entirely unfounded as there were a couple of episodes in the first season where he was shown to be impressed by burps displayed by Owen and Geoff both. I just figured that after spending so much time with Cody and Harold, Trent would display some more dorky qualities openly. As for him having a buffalo nickel and the gambling thing, concerning the latter I wanted to give him a new lucky charm once he gave Gwen her necklace back and an old nickel seemed like a good choice. As for the latter I believe the story you're talking about is the Peanut Gallery by Starryoak which I enjoyed very much when she was working on it. There's some truth to saying that several musicians take some big gambles so I decided to include that in Trent's character as well. And finally as for Staci not being on the Loquacious Lions despite almost never shutting up well...I've a very good reason as to why she's on Trent's team but mum's the word right now on what the reason is.

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Okay, I think I've covered everything I wanted to for now. Everyone, relax and enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Episode 2: Do You Wanna Build A Snow Team?, Part 2**_

* * *

"Welcome back Total Drama fans!" Chris greeted the viewing audience from atop a snow covered mesa. "It's just about time for one of the show's, if I may be so bold, _coolest_ challenges ever to start!"

Standing next to him was Chef Hatchet who was shaking his head at the host's joke. "I told you that you never shoulda fired your original writers. That joke was older than my great Aunt Petunia!"

Taking a moment to send his assistant a quick glare, Chris then faced the camera as he began to walk towards the edge of the mountain. "Right about now, our campers should be finishing up the _little_ hike required to get up here."

"Little hike my butt McLean!"

The host with the most turned to see that it was a slightly panting and irate (as always) Eva being the first to join him and Chef on the mountaintop.

"You are so _very_ lucky that I've been taking more anger management classes," the bodybuilder growled as she marched over to Chris, who flinched as she raised a fist near his face. "Otherwise I _know_ that I wouldn't stop myself from...from..."

Eva's tirade began to quickly die down after seeing everything in the area, specifically dozens upon dozens of snow sculptures that all resembled Chris perfectly. Not only did she find the attention to detail disturbing, but every single one of the sculptures was made into a different position. There was a snow Chris drinking from a coffee mug, a snow Chris reading a newspaper, and even a snow Chris admiring himself in a mirror.

"This has got to be the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in my life," Eva finally said after recovering from the initial shock.

"Uh, I think you mean the most _delightful_ ," Chris said who had taken advantage of the opportunity to hide behind Chef, who couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Okay Shawnie," Jasmine's voice could be heard. Everyone turned to see the Australian, with her ill boyfriend on her back, having now joined them. "A lot of people are still behind us so you should be able to rest a little...what in the world?" She had looked up to see the multitude of wintry Chris lookalikes and looked to be just as perplexed as Eva had been.

"Crikey," she breathed looking around, not realizing that on her back, Shawn was beginning to stir.

"Is s-s-something wrong J-Jasmine?" he asked shivering as he lifted his head. She said nothing, simply pointing to the sculptures. Now seeing for himself, Shawn's eyes began to dilate. "I swear I've had this nightmare before."

Such a remark was not appreciated by the host.

"You know it's sad that so many youngsters today have no taste in art," he told Chef, not noticing the cook quietly snickering.

Gradually, the contestants began to make it to the top and like those before them, found no joy in seeing so many things that resembled their least favorite TV host. Not even Sierra had found anything positive to say about them. However, that was most likely due to the fact that her attention was focused on one of the few campers who was still climbing up the mountainside.

"Oh my poor Codykins!" she bemoaned. "What could be taking him so long?! What if he got hurt?!" She gasped and gripped her head. "What if he's with another woman?! Courtney, this is all your fault! Why wouldn't you let me help him?!"

The team captain in question wasn't the least bit fazed by the obsessive girl's incessant jabber.

"Well for one thing, he isn't a member of my team, so he's _far_ from being my top priority," she replied pinching the bridge of her nose. "And for another thing, no one else had any real trouble getting up here so I think he'll be fine."

Sierra's expression quickly turned hostile as she ran up and grabbed Courtney by the collar of her coat. "You don't know that! Don't act you know that! What, do you suddenly think you're Dawn or something?!"

Courtney grabbed Sierra's wrists in an attempt to free herself from the fan's hold. "Let go of me you psycho!" she shouted as she struggled. "I might be trying to be a nicer person now but I will happily toss you off this mountain if you don't stop!" It was only when a new voice arose did Sierra release her, causing her to fall into the snow on her back.

"You're doing great Trent, we've almost made it to the end."

The last two to arrive were Cody and Trent, the former having to guide the latter due to his hat covering his eyes and obscuring his vision. Trent however, no longer appeared to be in a good mood.

"Aw for goodness' sake Cody this is embarrassing!" Trent griped as his friend let go of his hands. "How am I supposed to look like a good team captain with you leading me around like I'm blind?"

The tech geek shrugged. "Don't blame me big bro," Cody replied. "If anything, you can blame your fear of heights. I was only trying to help."

" _That's_ what kept you two so long?" Jo crossly asked. "Music man is scared of heights? Since when?"

"Yeah, I always thought that you were scared of mimes Trent," Sammy said. "What could make you be afraid of heights?"

"What else?" Trent asked in turn, facing a bewildered B instead of Sammy due to his hat still being pulled over his eyes. "This show."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Trent - "I'll admit that I can be a little skittish when I'm up in a high place but can anyone really blame me? The last time I was on Total Drama, I had to jump from an _insane_ height and ended up landing on a _very_ sensitive area on a _fence post_. And before that, I fell out of plane and broke nearly every single bone in my body! I like to think that my fear is justified."

* * *

"As much as I appreciate the concern little bro, I can promise you that I'll be fine," Trent said now pulling his hat back into its proper position. "As long as I stay focused on the challenge and simply don't look down."

However, because Trent was still blinded as he was doing this, he didn't realize that the direction he was now facing was the edge of the mountain. The second his eyes were uncovered he saw just how far away the bottom was and immediately he felt weak in the knees.

"Oh no," he said with a grimace before promptly falling onto his back. Several of his teammates rushed to his side while a handful of the Loquacious Lions decided to laugh at him.

"Trent, are you all right?" Sammy asked in concern.

"Don't you worry, he'll be fine," Cody assured her as he and Tyler stood their friend back up. "This is nothin'. You should've seen him whenever we got on a plane during our European tour. I mean, it was never as bad as when _Owen_ flies, but it still wasn't pretty."

"Oh tell me more!" Sierra butted in, startling Cody and forcing Tyler to support Trent by himself. "I still cannot believe that I didn't know you guys were planning to go overseas! Why didn't you tell me Codykins? Why did you leave me behind?!"

The (now one-sided) conversation was effectively ended by the sound of an obnoxious coughing. Everyone turned to see an annoyed Chris with his arms folded and his right foot tapping.

"As _difficult_ as that would be for him to answer, I'd like to explain the first challenge now," Chris said with his brows furrowed. Once everyone had their eyes on him, his smile returned as he walked up to the snow sculpture nearest to him.

"Much better. Now as you all can see, we are surrounded by what can only be described as the absolute most _gorgeous_ pieces of art to have ever been created."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Gwen - "As soon as he called those _abominations_ 'art', I swear I could almost hear Michelangelo rolling around in his grave."

* * *

"I swear I could look at this guy's beautiful mug all day," Chris mused as he leaned on the shoulder of a snow sculpture of him talking into a director's megaphone. "But alas, all good things must come to an end!" He walked away from the sculpture, wiping a tear from his eye as he went.

On the north end of the mesa, Chef was already sitting in a helicopter, sipping a cup of piping hot coffee while he waited for Chris. As the host made his way over he directed the contestants' eyes towards the south where one red sled and one green sled were parked.

"Near that end of the mountain are your team toboggans, color coded for your convenience," he continued before stopping at the copter and turning to face everyone. "But before you can ride them down, each team will need to find a minimum of thirteen helmets which are hidden inside my snow clones."

"So, to get the helmets, we need to destroy all of the snow sculptures?" Courtney asked realizing what Chris was getting at.

"Oh my gosh, thank you!" Chris began to sob. "I really don't think I could've said it myself!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Gwen said in a skeptic tone. "You want us to _destroy_ something that's modeled after you?"

"I didn't want them to look like me!" Chris snapped back. "They were supposed to look like you lot but I lost a game of poker with the camera crew! It was either this or give them my beach home in Bora Bora!"

He turned away from the campers and began to quietly cry into his hands, much to the growing discomfort of those standing closest to him.

"Yo, if dat ain't pathetic, I dunno what is," Anne Maria observed with a wide eye Lindsay silently nodding in agreement.

"This is so deliciously diabolical!" Max exclaimed running up to one of the sculptures. "Crushing these insipid blobs as well as that buffoon's spirit shall be very gratifying for one so _evil_ such as myself!" He swiftly proceeded to kick it only to reveal that it wasn't actually a real snowman at all, but instead a steel statue that had been covered with snow.

"Yeow! My evil little piggies!" Max shrieked as he fell back, clutching his now injured foot. Many of his fellow campers began to wince at the incident when the ground beneath their feet began to shake. Everyone looked at Chris, now in the helicopter, who let out a morose sigh.

"Oh that's right," he unenthusiastically droned. "Out of the many, many Snow-Chris's, _only_ twenty-six of them have helmets hidden inside them. All of the others are housing different types of booby traps. And you might want to keep the noise level down, otherwise you may cause an avalanche or something. Whatever."

He took a look at the faceless statue that now stood in place of the snow sculpture of him pointing to himself and began to tear up again.

"Get me outta here Chef!" he croaked. "Not even the thought of all of them buried alive can make me feel better!"

Chef Hatchet rolled his eyes before starting up the chopper, the loud whirring of the blades causing the mountain to shake once more.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Chef Hatchet - "I don't care what that boy says, _he's_ the biggest drama queen on this show, not any of the kids! The intern that made all of them sculptures built ten more outside of his trailer!"

* * *

"Okay everyone," Courtney called out once the rumblings died down. "We need to figure how we're going to go about this?"

"What's there to figure out?" Lightning asked. "All we gotta do is knock 'em down till we find all we need!"

"It can't be that simple," Courtney countered. "With a challenge like this, there _must_ be some kind of pattern we need to find."

"That _does_ sound like something Chris would do to add to a challenge's degree of difficulty," Cameron agreed.

A sudden screaming was heard and the Lion team soon saw Tyler running around with an angry looking raccoon biting down on his head, apparently having already searched through one of the sculptures.

"Aw forget this!" Eva growled as she broke away from the group. "The longer we keep yakking, the bigger the lead the Crickets get! Let's just smash the sculptures already!"

Many of the other Lions began to voice their agreement as they too started to search through the sculptures.

"But the booby traps-" Courtney began to protest before she was cut off by Lightning.

"Just tough 'em out like me!" the quarterback boasted. "Lightning's more than able to trap a few boobies!"

A few stifled laughs could be heard following his comment, but before Lightning could ask what was so funny, the mountain began to shake once more.

"All right, fine!" Courtney quietly hissed. "Just everyone _please_ keep your voices down!"

Over on to where the Crooning Crickets were gathered, Trent was back on his feet again, giving his team a quick pep talk as Rodney pulled the raccoon off of Tyler's head.

"Listen up you guys," he whispered. "No doubt the Lions will find their helmets fast, even with the traps. Luckily, we've got a secret weapon that'll be able to help us find ours much faster."

Sky tilted her head in confusion. "Secret weapon?" she repeated, when a small cough caused her to turn around.

Dawn was sitting on the ground, in the lotus position, with her eyes closed.

"It might take me a few minutes," she said. "All of these snowman are _tainted_ with the blackness of Chris's aura. However, I should be able to pinpoint the location of all of our helmets."

Jo rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You really expect me to just stand around and wait for Tinkerbell to-" she began but was cut off by Dawn opening her eyes and pointing to a sculpture of Chris eating a sandwich.

"That one there has one," she said confidently. "I'm sure of it!"

Before anyone could voice any skepticism, she ran over to it and stuck her hand inside of its chest. After digging around some, she pulled out a green helmet with the team's logo on it. The Crickets began to cheer, but quickly remembered the danger they were in and covered their mouths.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Tyler- _*Covered in multiple scratches.*_ "Guess I should've waited a little before charging in. I'm not mad at the raccoon though. If I were shoved into a big pile of snow, I'd be more than a little cranky too."

* * *

"Shhh!" Trent held his finger in front of his mouth, and his team silently nodded in reply. "So that's all there is to the plan, just do what Dawn says and we'll be out of here in no time."

As everyone gave him a thumbs up, Dawn put the helmet on Shawn, who was still being held up by Jasmine.

"I don't believe Trent will mind if you put Shawn on the toboggan now," she said before the Australian could even ask why she had done that. "He really isn't in much shape to compete and the rest of us will be able to handle this so I would say you can go ahead."

Jasmine turned to her captain for confirmation, and once she saw him nod, she smiled and headed towards the Cricket's toboggan, giving Dawn a quick, "Thanks mate," as she left.

She gently placed her boyfriend onto the sled and after seeing him sneeze again, decided to take off her scarf and wrap around his neck.

"T-T-Thanks Jas," he shivered as he looked up to her. "I'm s-sorry about all this."

The Australian simply sighed and shook her head. "You and I need to have a serious talk about your zombie hunting affecting your health," she said. "And if you wanna apologize to anyone, apologize to Trent and the others once this is all over."

The conspiracy theorist weakly nodded and began to lay down. Seeing this made Jasmine smile a little. She knelt down and kissed his forehead.

"But right now, just take it easy so you can get better, okay babe?" she said.

"Y-You g-g-got it," he replied.

"Bonzer, now I best go and help everyone out," she said before sprinting off.

Soon all the contestants (bar one) were searching extensively, some taking much pleasure in using more force than necessary in destroying the frozen effigies of their host. Unfortunately, that did result in more than one type of mishap.

Eva had wasted virtually no time in punching the first snow Chris she could find in the face, only to recoil in pain with her hand now covered in several needles. With the snow no longer concealing it, the bodybuilder could see that her fist had connected with a cactus. Seething with rage, she nearly screamed but was prevented by Brick who had managed to cover her mouth before any sound could come out.

Giving her the signal to stay quiet, Brick tentatively took his hand away from her face. Silent, but still incensed, Eva shoved him into the cactus as she went to look through another sculpture. With needles now scattered around his back, the cadet was fighting back tears in his eyes before falling on his face.

Amy was paying no attention at all to the challenge, having instead chosen to antagonize her sister. With a half dozen snowballs packed, she continually tried to hit Sammy in the back of the head but her poor aim resulted in a miss every time. What Amy found to be especially infuriating was that Sammy appeared to be completely unaware that she was being targeted. Just before Amy could throw her final snowball, her twin had run off with another one of the Crickets' helmets in tow.

Livid at failing to make Sammy even acknowledge her presence, Amy kicked the head off a snow sculpture of Chris wearing a tuxedo. This proved to be unwise, as inside the head an ant farm was located. When the farm spilled open and the ants fell to the ground, they wasted no time in climbing onto Amy's body.

Despite the Crickets accumulating their helmets at a faster pace than the Lions, one team member was not performing all too well. When Dawn had given Rodney his instructions, she had unknowingly garnered his affections merely by placing her hand on his arm. Lovestruck, he clumsily wandered over to the wrong sculpture. Placing his hand inside, what he pulled out was not a helmet, but instead a potted, orange flower.

Having noticed his mistake, Rodney raised the plant to his eyes to get a better look at it. Much to the shock of him and his teammates, the flower shot a stream of fire at him, setting his earmuffs ablaze. The country boy cried out in pain as he tossed the flower away, causing the area to start trembling again. Luckily, Beardo and Tyler were quick to throw snow on him in order to put out the fire and soothe his pain.

In spite of this, the Crooning Crickets still managed to stay in the lead thanks to Dawn, having found ten helmets while the Loquacious Lions had found only seven. Even so, their leader wasn't as happy with the success as the rest of the team.

Trent had just about to search through a sculpture of Chris taking a bow when the sound of a crow cawing reminded him of where he was. When Cody and Sammy approached him, they found him sitting in the fetal position.

"Uh...big bro?" Cody asked.

"That bird sounded really, really close by," Trent shuddered. "We aren't anywhere remotely near the ground, are we?"

"Not really, no," his best friend hesitantly replied. "But you were doing so great before! Just try and think of something else to get your mind off of it. Like...like all of this snow! Doesn't it remind you of when we were in Germany?"

"Oh wow, you guys went to Germany for your tour?" Sammy asked awestruck to which Cody nodded in reply.

"Yeah, it was our first stop, and it was even colder over there," the tech geek said. "It was great though; the schnitzel, the fräuleins..."

"The you getting us banned from that chocolate factory in Cologne?" Trent asked, a small grin beginning to return to his face.

"Dude!" Cody exclaimed, his face flushing a bright red. He looked over to see Sammy covering her mouth while giggling.

"Sorry, sorry," the cheerleader said. "It sounds like it was an eventful trip. I still can't believe you guys broke up, you seemed so popular."

"You were a fan of ours?" Cody asked surprised.

"Well, no," Sammy replied sheepishly. "I'm sorry but I guess I've never really been too much into boy bands. You guys are good singers, don't get me wrong, but I usually just listen to the same bands I liked from back when I was a kid. My number one favorites have always been the Spice Girls."

"Well, I'd say that you've got pretty good taste in ladies," Cody said. Trent and Sammy gave an odd look, causing him to realize his slip. "I-In music, I mean! You've got good taste in _music_." His teammates could only snicker, causing his face to redden even further.

"Nevertheless, the Spice Girls _are_ pretty cool," Trent said. "Although now that our boy band days are over, I'd say we're pretty much done with pop music. What I'd really like to play now is some old school rock and roll."

"We just need to find some new recruits first," Cody added. "That was one of the reasons we came back to the show, to see if any of the contestants we hadn't met yet had any musical inclination. I hope we can find someone else who can play bass, I miss my keyboard."

"So you two already know that you want to keep being musicians?" Sammy asked.

"It's what we love," Trent said with a shrug. He then reached into the back of the snow Chris and pulled out a helmet. "Though since I would also love to get down from the mountain, I'll go take this to the others."

As he walked off, Cody and Sammy exchanged a smile.

"Thanks for that, really," the tech geek said. "Now with music on his mind, he should be able to finish the challenge no problem."

"It's the least I could do," the good twin replied. "I owe him after he made sure I wouldn't be on the same team as Amy, and for getting on her nerves."

The two shared a small laugh before Sammy asked, "So, did you really get banned from a chocolate factory when you guys went to Europe?"

"Of course not!" Cody insisted before self-consciously rubbing the back of his head. "I actually got us banned from _three_ chocolate factories."

Sammy had to cover her mouth in order to muffle her laughter following what he said.

"You're hilarious!" she exclaimed. Cody could only awkwardly chuckle as his eyes darted around. "Yeah..."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cody - "As sweet as it is to hear a cute girl tell me something like that, I should probably tell her that I was being serious. _*He rubs his chin in thought.*_ Or...maybe not.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two, they were being watched from a distance. Peering out from a sculpture of Chris wearing his aviator outfit from Total Drama World Tour, Sierra looked fit to be tied.

"That little hussy!" she hissed. "Who does she think she is flirting with my Cody like that?!" In her rage she completely crushed the head of the snow Chris in front of her. Surprisingly enough there was no helmet belonging to either team hidden inside, nor any kind of booby trap.

"I am gonna make her regret she even looked in his direction!" she declared before starting to run up to them. Having heard the uber-fan shout, Courtney turned around and groaned in exasperation at what she saw.

"Not this again!" she complained. "Lightning!" the quarterback looked up from his pursuit through the snow when he heard his name called. "Help me stop Sierra and get her back over to our side!"

"And why should Lightning do that?" the arrogant young man challenged.

"Because I'm your captain and you're supposed to listen to me?" Courtney replied back annoyed.

"Nuh-uh, not good enough," Lightning shook his head. "I'm here to sha-win this game, not babysit nutty girl! Find somebody else to do it!"

"Excuse me?!" Courtney asked. She marched over to the jock, grabbed his necklace and yanked him down to her eye level. "Listen up football head! _I_ am your leader! That means you do what I say or you will not only be the first one off this island, I'll be sure to _sha-kick_ you where the sun doesn't shine before you leave! Is that clear?!"

"Yes ma'am!" a wide eyed Lightning said with a cringe.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "For the record, while I am going to be a better person, I absolutely _refuse_ to be a pushover!"

Lightning - "Lightning wants to make it clear, he is _not_ afraid of bossy girl! He just...doesn't wanna get sha-kicked in his kiwis. What kinda dude _would_ want something like that?"

* * *

Lightning dashed off, easily catching up to her and tackling her into a snowbank with a spirited, "Sha-bam!" which was heard by Sammy and Cody, who were confused when they turned around to not see anything. Shrugging, they left the area to regroup with their team. A few moments later, Lightning was holding up a struggling Sierra by the hood of her coat and bringing her back to where Courtney was.

"Put me down! Put me down!" the uber-fan demanded.

"No can do girl," her captor replied. "Lightning's got his orders."

"Thank you," Courtney said before turning to Sierra with her arms crossed. "Now listen you, enough is enough. We need you to be helping us finish this challenge, _not_ going after people who aren't even doing anything!"

"Not doing anything?!" Sierra asked incredulously. "Can you not see?! They're _flirting_! I have to stop it before Sammy steals my Cody away from me the same way Gwen stole Duncan away from you!"

Lightning's eyes widened in shock before he looked down to Courtney, whose brow furrowed as her arms dropped to her sides and her hands clenched into fists. Taking a deep breath, she took off her scarf.

"I think it's time _somebody_ had a timeout," she said through gritted teeth.

A few minutes Sierra was seen tied up in both Courtney's scarf and her own sitting helplessly in the Lions' toboggan.

"And that takes care of that," Courtney said dusting off her hands. "Now let's get back to business!"

"Dang bossy girl!" Lightning exclaimed as she began to walk past him. "Now Lightning's _really_ glad he did what you said!"

"First of all, my name is _Courtney_ , not _bossy girl_ ," the Lions captain replied. "And second of all-" she stopped mid-sentence when she saw that another one of her teammates was up to something other than searching through the sculptures. "What is Scott up to?"

The dirt farmer in question was walking towards the Crooning Crickets toboggan, whistling with his hands behind his back as if to appear as nonchalant as possible.

"Gee, this is frustrating," he said in a tone that almost obviously feigned innocence. "I just can't seem to find a single helmet no matter where I look! Just what I am gonna-Whoa!"

Apparently not looking where he was going, Scott tripped over a rock and ended up falling to the ground with his arms flailing about. What ended up happening as a result was him hitting the back end of the Crickets' toboggan with enough force to send it sliding down the mountain...

"Aaaahh! What is happening?!"

...with an ill Shawn still on it. Members of the Cricket team immediately stopped what they were doing and rushed over but were too late to stop their sled from going down.

"SHAWN!" Jasmine cried out in concern.

"What the heck just happened?" Tyler asked as he peered down the mountain.

"Good question," Dawn said before turning around, her eyes narrowing at one person in particular. "And I believe it is _Scott_ who can answer it."

Now back on his feet, the schemer held up his hands in defense. "Hold on, hold on," he said beginning to back away. "That was just an accident! I only tripped! I swear!" He stopped after backing into someone who didn't budge an inch, causing him to nervously look up. Standing behind him was B, who grabbed Scott by the shoulders before he had a chance to run away, which gave a _very_ upset Jasmine time to approach him.

"I swear, if anything's happened to Shawn by the time I get down there, _you_ are gonna be bloody sorry," she said in an ominously hushed voice. Before she could say any more, a whistle rang out, attracting everyone's attention.

"We don't have time to worry about him you guys," Trent told his team. "Shawn's in trouble and now that we've got all thirteen helmets, we need to find a new way down the mountain. B, let him go."

The silent genius looked to Jasmine, who nodded to him and he released Scott. The dirt farmer wasted no time in running away, only to be confronted by his ex-girlfriend.

" _What_ did you do?!" the CIT demanded.

"I keep saying, it was just an accident!" Scott insisted. "It's not like this is the first time that I've tripped over something! Come on!"

"Well..." Courtney said, beginning to remember several instances of Scott hurting himself during Total Drama All-Stars.

"You know what?" Scott said, noticing from her tone that she sounded unsure. "Fine, don't believe me. It's not like no one's ever doubted _you_ before." As he walked off, he peered out of the corner of his eye and saw Courtney's hurt expression. Now that she couldn't see him, he allowed himself to grin rather wickedly.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Scott - "Yeah, I _totally_ did that on purpose. It's all a part of my plan to get rid of Courtney; sabotage the other team and make sure to make it look accidental so she either won't suspect me, or feel horribly guilty if she does. That way when I _do_ sabotage her, she'll never see it coming. Hehehe, chalk one up for the Scottmeister."

* * *

Before he reached the Lions' toboggan, he was quickly pulled aside by Amy. Startled at first, he quickly became annoyed as he asked, "And just what do you want?"

"Oh nothing," Amy replied casually. "Except that I saw all of that and I like, know that what you did was _no_ accident. You looked around and _picked out_ which rock you were gonna trip over before you pushed that icky-smelling zombie boy down!"

"Yeah, and what of it?" Scott sneered. "You planning to tattle on me or something? Not like too many people would believe _you_."

"What you just did was underhanded and cruel," Amy said before suddenly pulling him close. "And I _like_ it."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Amy - "Torturing Samey is not enough for me anymore. I want that idiot Trent to suffer too! But since they're like, on a different team than me, I'm gonna need a little help. If it means having to ally with that super grody redneck, then so be it."

Scott - "Huh. Never thought about partnering up with _her_ of all people. Couldn't hurt. She definitely doesn't seem as smart as Courtney, or most girls on the show. I don't think I'll need to worry about getting backstabbed this time. If anything, _I_ can just backstab _her_ when I don't need her anymore."

* * *

"Where are those heathens and what could they be doing?" Max's obnoxious voice could be heard shouting. "We have our final helmet, so let's get going already!"

Such noise caused the mountain to begin rumbling again, unnerving everyone, fearing that they wouldn't be able to avoid an avalanche much longer.

"Shut up Max!" several of the Lions angrily whispered, Eva slamming her fist down onto the villain wannabe's head.

"We'll talk about it later," Scott told Amy before running off to the others. "Now come on!"

The two joined their teammates who were beginning to put on their helmets and take their places on the toboggan, with Courtney soon catching up.

"Is everyone here?" she asked and was soon greeted by Brick who offered her a helmet and a salute.

"We're all present and accounted for ma'am," he said. He pointed to Sierra, still tied up but with a helmet on her head, sandwiched between an annoyed Anne Maria and an even more annoyed Dave. "We were gonna untie her, but Cameron said it'd be better for us this way."

"Well he wasn't wrong," she said as she took the helmet and strapped it on. She sat down on the front of the sled with Brick right behind her. "Everyone hang on tight! It's going to be a long ways down!"

"Yeah, better hope we don't have any _accidents_ , eh Courtney?" Gwen asked from behind Brick, causing the CIT to gasp.

"You don't think I told him to do that, do you?" she asked looking back. "He said that really did just trip!"

"Uh-huh, sure," Gwen replied sarcastically. "Just keep telling yourself that, o captain, my captain."

Courtney was about to open her mouth to reply but was cut off by Dave complaining, "Can we _please_ just go already?! I feel like my butt's starting to freeze to this thing!"

"Fine!" Courtney exclaimed, deciding that it wasn't the time or place for an argument with Gwen. "Lightning, let's get going!"

Lightning who was at the end of the toboggan (and none too thrilled about it), turned around so that his back was against Scott's who was sitting in front of him.

"Sha-zoom!" he called out, pushing his feet against the mountain and propelling the toboggan forward, with many members of the team beginning to scream as they began their descent.

"Great, just great!" Jo complained as she watched the Loquacious Lions go down. "Now they're ahead of us, we're gonna lose for sure!"

"That isn't exactly our biggest problem right now ya know," Tyler said gesturing over to Sky and Sammy, who were attempting to keep a frantic Jasmine calm.

"Shawnie, please be okay, please be okay," the Australian muttered with her hands firmly clasped together.

"I'm sure that he'll be fine," Sammy said soothingly while rubbing her friend's arm. "Shawn's the toughest guy I know! He can handle anything!"

"Sammy's right," Sky added. "And besides, it's not like this the first time he's fallen down a mountain. It'd take a lot more than that to kill a guy like him."

" _Kill?!"_ Jasmine cried out in anguish, causing Sky to immediately look remorseful.

"I didn't word that too well, did I?" she asked Sammy, who looked up to see that Jasmine was nearing tears.

"Uh...no, I don't really think you did," the nice twin replied.

Jasmine appeared to be on the verge of screaming before her shoulder was suddenly tapped by a B, who motioned for the survivalist to follow him before running over and repeating the gesture with Rodney and then heading further away from the mountain's edge.

"Wait, what?" Jasmine asked, confused.

"B has a plan to get us down the mountain," Dawn explained for her friend. "But he can't do it without yours and Rodney's strength.

"Well why didn't he just say so?" Jasmine said, before looking over to Rodney. "You heard the lady Rodney, let's go!"

"Um, right," the country boy agreed, albeit with a puzzled tone.

The two took off and found B standing by a tall dead oak tree. The silent genius had taken a long rope out of his coat and was tying one end of it into a lasso when his help arrived.

B pointed to himself before holding up the lasso and pointing to the tree's highest branch. Then he took Jasmine and Rodney's arms and led them behind the tree. Pointing to them, he then turned and began to push the tree with both hands for a few seconds.

"I have absolutely no idea what he means," Rodney said blankly, causing B to slap his forehead.

"Hold the phone," Jasmine said thoughtfully. "I think I do. You're gonna pull on the tree from one side while we push on the other so it'll fall, right?"

B smiled as he gave the survivalist a thumbs up to confirm what she had said.

"It sounds like a solid plan to me mate," Jasmine said, her confidence beginning to return. "Let's give it a go!"

"But, what if we cause an avalanche when the tree goes down?" Rodney asked.

"That's where we come in," Trent piped up as he and the rest of the Crickets joined the three. "Dawn already filled us in on B's idea. If we do this slowly, we should be able to catch it before it hits the ground and carry it to the edge."

B nodded and ran to the front side of the tree and tossed his lasso to the highest branch. Catching it, he pulled on the rope to tighten the hold before giving another thumbs up to Jasmine.

"Guess that's our signal," she said before turning to Rodney. "Ya ready to do this?"

"I guess I am," the country boy replied as he placed his hands on the tree.

"Good, let's go!" Jasmine exclaimed as she did the same and the two began to push.

The remaining Crooning Crickets were split up into two separate groups on each side of the tree; Trent, Dawn, Tyler and Cody on the left, and Jo, Sammy, Beardo, Staci and Sky on the right.

Thanks to the combined efforts of the team's three biggest members, the roots of the tree quickly began to break apart from the ground, causing the tree to gradually lean forward.

"Get ready people," Jo said. "It's coming our way! Remember, lift with your knees" Everyone grabbed the tree as it fell in order to slow it down before placing their hands underneath it and lifting it up, grunting and groaning as they did so.

"All right, it worked!" Rodney cheered as he and Jasmine joined those who were holding up the left side. B would follow suit by abandoning his rope and joining those on the right.

"Swell, now let's hurry up and get outta here!" Jasmine said.

"Yah, this went a lot better than when my great-great-great-great Uncle Frederick first started Canada's first logging company," Staci lied as everyone ran to the edge of the mountain. "Ya know before him-"

"Um Staci?" Sky spoke up next to the chatterbox. "I really don't think now's a good time for that."

The team carried it toward the edge of the mountain where they set it down and began strapping on their helmets and climbing onto their impromptu toboggan.

"All right, everybody ready to do this?" Trent asked at the front end of the tree, turning back to look at his teammates. As everyone gave an affirmative nod, he turned back and peered down the mountain. "Great, I just wish that _I_ was."

When the tree did not move, Dawn leaned out and asked, "Is everything okay Trent?" The musician did not say anything, continuing to just sit there, completely still. Cody tapped him on the shoulder. "Bro, we really need to get moving." Trent still did not respond. "Oh my, I think he froze."

"Gosh I didn't know he was that sensitive to the cold," Rodney thickly said, which elicited a few groans from those sitting next to him.

"He means frozen with _fear_ jar head," Jo snapped before hopping off of the tree and running up to the front. "Forget this, _I'm_ taking the front!" She shoved the stiff Trent backward and took his place. "Let's get this show on the road! Lean forward!"

Everyone did so and within seconds the tree was barreling its way down the mountain, with Tyler happily crying out, "Extreme!"

Meanwhile further down the mountain, things had been going relatively smoothly for the Loquacious Lions, having not run into any serious obstacle on their descent.

"Hang on Shawn, we're coming for ya!"

Until they heard Jasmine's call out to her boyfriend.

"We need to hurry you guys!" Courtney called out as she peered back over her shoulder. "We can't let them overtake us!"

"Foolish woman, that would be impossible!" Max pompously said. "There is no conceivable way they could gain on us with the lead that we have!"

"Uh actually Max," Cameron said from behind the 'super villain'. "Given how many um, _bulky_ members they have, it is feasible that they could after picking up enough speed."

"Silence you puny twit!" Max replied, giving the bubble boy a backhanded slap to the face. "Never insinuate that you know more than me!"

"Leave him alone you little jerk!" Gwen shouted at almost the exact same time as Courtney yelled, "Max, _enough_ already!"

"Cora!" Lindsay cried out from behind Brick. "Watch out for that tree!"

Courtney turned around and was shocked to see that a tree _was_ standing in their path, with little to no time to evade it.

"Brace yourselves!" the Lions captain exclaimed right before the toboggan slid straight into the tree's trunk, nearly causing everyone that was on it to fall off. Moans and groans soon filled the air as many members of the team held their heads, protected by the helmets, but still shaken up from the impact.

"Is everyone okay?" Brick asked, standing up to see if any of his teammates were injured.

"Yeah, but no thanks to the one who drove us into a tree!" Eva growled as she glowered in Courtney's direction.

"Hey, this was _not_ my fault," the CIT defended herself. "You wanna blame someone? How about the one who distracted me because he couldn't shut up for just _one minute_?! He redefines the word loquacious!"

Many glares were quickly sent Max's way, who responded by snootily turning up his nose and turning away with his arms crossed.

"Trying to shift fault onto me when it was _your_ ignorance that caused this?" he asked. "Evil is not impressed by such _pettiness_."

Courtney looked absolutely furious at such a statement, causing teammates such as Brick, Lindsay and Cameron to appear terrified. She opened her mouth and was about to tell Max off when Anne Maria spoke out, "Easy girl. Before ya go and blow a musket, rememba all dat stuff you were sayin' about us keepin' our voices down."

Courtney's angry look quickly faded as she looked back to the top of the mountain and realized that the Jersey Shore reject was right. Even with their lead, the Lions still had a ways to go down and were still in a good amount of danger.

" _Fine_ ," she conceded after a small sigh. "Let's just hurry up and get back on track before the others have a chance to catch up with us!"

Most of her team began to murmur quietly in agreement. Unfortunately, there was one person who refused to drop the matter.

"That's right, just give in," Max gloated. "No one can ever dare to try and match wits with me! Max! The _evilest_ evil the world has ever known! BWAHAHAHAHA!"

A thunderous rumbling began to occur as Max continued his raucous laughter, causing several of his teammates' eyes to widen in shock when they realized the mountain hadn't shook that hard before then.

"Welp, we're dead," Scott said flatly as Amy smacked Max in the back of the head to get him to stop.

Further up the mountain, the Crickets had been going down steadily, that is until they felt the quakes too. Sky turned around and saw a massive amount of snow closing in on them at an incredibly fast pace.

"Avalanche!" she cried out. "Hurry everyone, hold on tight!" Her teammates swiftly bent down and clutched the tree with both arms as hard as they could, bracing themselves for when the snowslide caught up with them.

It wasn't long before they were engulfed in snow, which only increased in size as it continued to fall. Even though the Lions had managed to get their toboggan going again, their efforts to escape ultimately proved to be fruitless as they were soon swallowed up as well.

The avalanche finally stopped once it reached the base of the mountain, where Chris, Chef and Shawn had been waiting, the zombie conspiracy nut noticeably much more worried than the host or cook.

"Huh, y'know, I'm actually starting to feel a little better now," Chris mused. "I didn't actually think anyone would be dumb enough to be _that_ loud, but it looks like I gave you kids too much credit."

"Jasmine! You guys!" Shawn (who somehow made it down the mountain unscathed) shouted in panic. He climbed up the mound of snow and began to start digging. "I'll find you, I promise I...I..." he soon broke into a fit of sneezing. When it ended, he immediately resumed his search.

"Well, I think I'll and go review the footage, to see who'll be getting the advantage in the next challenge," Chris said as he began to walk off. "That is, _after_ I get some cocoa."

"What?" Shawn asked looking up from the snow. "Chris, you've _gotta_ help dig them out! They could knocked out from the impact, or...or..." his widened as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "Or _worse_! Jasmine, I'm coming baby!"

"Ugh, all right already," Chris said with his eyes rolling. "Your sentimentality is making me nauseous! Chef! Get to the infirmary and get the first aid and the stretchers ready!" His assistant grumbled incoherently as he walked away.

"There, happy now?" the host asked Shawn. "Good, because I've got cameras to check once I warm up."

"I better not come back to that trailer and find you wearing my bunny slippers again Chris!" Chef's voice could be heard from offscreen.

"But Flopsy and Mopsy are so comfortable!" Chris replied tauntingly and narrowly avoided a large snowball that was hurled his way. "Geez, learn to take a joke, dude!"

It took quite a while for everyone to be dug out and miraculously enough, no one was seriously injured. However, that did nothing to improve the bad mood they were collectively in. They were currently convened by a large, frozen lake that had a hockey net positioned on each end of it.

Chris and Chef Hatchet were standing before the campers, the former mockingly sipping a mug of hot chocolate with a substantially sized marshmallow floating in its center. The shivering teenagers could only gaze enviously at the warm beverage, it having been hours since they were able to have anything to eat or drink.

"Welcome to the location of today's second challenge, kids!" the host eventually announced. "Which I like to call; _La Coupe Drama_!"

"A hockey game? Seriously, Chris?" Gwen asked, unimpressed. "I know we live in Canada, but come on."

"Girl, you've gotta be trippin'," Lightning said incredulously. "Hockey is sha-sweet! Not as fun as football, but it sure can come close! Lightning makes sure to never, ever, _ever_ miss a Maple Leafs game!"

"You're a Maple Leafs fan?" Tyler shook his head in disbelief. "Dude, _everyone_ knows that the Canucks are Canada's most extreme players!"

"You _both_ must be confused, not that that isn't surprising," Jo butted in. "The Flames are number one, hands down."

"And just like that you've actually managed to lose some of my respect," Eva said to her fellow tomboy. "How can you like the Flames? They _steal_ all of the glory that rightfully belongs to the Oilers!"

"Glad to see the four of you display such excitement for the challenge," Chris spoke above the four arguing athletes. "Too bad that _none_ of you will be competing in this challenge!"

Eva, Tyler, Jo and Lightning immediately ceased bickering with one another to stare at the host in both disappointment and anger.

"Are you freakin' kidding me?" Jo asked. "After nearly biting it in an avalanche, there's actually a chance to do something fun and you're suddenly saying we can't play? What the heck McLean?"

"Sha-say it ain't so!" Lightning wailed.

"If you had waited for me to explain how this would go down before engaging in pointless prattle, you'd know that this will _not_ be an average hockey game," Chris said. "Oh and b-t-dubs, the _Jets_ are Canada's best team. End of story."

"Chris, the challenge?" Courtney impatiently asked.

"Right, right, here's how this will work," the host began his explanation. "This challenge will be divided into five rounds, each one consisting of a Loquacious Lion facing a Crooning Cricket in a game of ice hockey. All a player needs to do in order to win a round is to score just one goal."

"One goal, that's it?" Cameron asked. "What's the catch?"

"Catch?" Chris repeated while raising a brow. "What do you mean by that?"

"The aspect of the challenge you gleefully throw in to try and kill us," Dave answered in a deadpan tone.

"Oh yeah! _That_ catch!" Chris chuckled, to which the campers responded by rolling their eyes. They all knew that he had been waiting for someone to ask just so they'd be forced to stand out in the cold longer than necessary. The host stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled and soon, ferocious roars could be heard drawing close.

"The catch is that the lake you'll be playing the game on is the territory of some old friends of ours," Chris continued as everyone looked to see a group of woolly beavers come out of the forest and gather on the frozen water, snarling fiercely.

"Interesting tidbit about the North American beaver," Chris went on, ignoring how terrified some of the contestants now looked. "It doesn't hibernate. And such behavior also pertains to its ancestor, the woolly beaver."

"Well, it's not like we've never dealt with anything like them before," Trent said, trying to remain optimistic. "So who'll be the ones playing?"

"That was determined earlier today by random selection," Chris replied bringing up a piece of paper.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Gwen - "Yeah, right. The crap that goes down on this show is all about as random as two coming before three."

* * *

"First round will be Brick vs. Dawn," Chris read. The two former Toxic Rats exchanged a friendly and respectful look.

"Second round will be Dave vs. Sky." Sky appeared greatly apprehensive, which only grew worse when the germophobe sent her another hateful glare.

"Third round is Gwen vs. Trent." Both were surprised but while Trent quickly recovered and smiled, Gwen did not.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Gwen - "What did I _just_ say?"

Sky - "Normally, I'd be psyched for this kind of challenge but now...I really don't know what to do."

* * *

"Fourth round is Courtney vs. B." The Lions captain wore a look of great determination in great contrast to B who merely looked indifferent.

"And the fifth and final round will be Max vs. Cody."

"That shall hardly constitute as a challenge Chris," Max said confidently. "I won't have any trouble whatsoever in besting that _little_ man in this sport!"

"Little?" Cody cried in outrage. "Where do _you_ get off calling me little? You're shorter than me!"

"You better hope you beat him twerp," Eva said grabbing Max by the collar of his jacket and hoisting him effortlessly off the ground. "After that avalanche that _you_ caused, scoring a goal is your _only_ chance of not being beaten black and blue!"

Max swallowed a lump in his throat. "Y-Yes," he stuttered, his bluster having faded. "N-Noted."

"Now before the games can begin, we need to settle the matter of who won the first challenge," Chris interrupted. "After a thorough review of the footage, I have learned that it was all of the Loquacious Lions who made it down the mountain first, so they win the advantage!"

The Lions began to cheer when the five who had been selected to compete each had a pair of ice skates tossed their way, courtesy of Chef Hatchet.

"And there it is! Top of the line skates to make things _slightly_ less difficult for you on the ice! As for the Crooning Crickets," he paused to turn towards the other team. "Well, you guys don't get squat! I'd say sorry but, I never am so let's get things started! Brick, Dawn, to the ice!"

Brick was on the ground lacing up his skates as a few of his teammates gave him words of encouragement.

"Best of luck out there Brick," Cameron told his friend.

"Please, as if he's even gonna need it," Anne Maria said with a dismissive wave. "Dat Dawn's cute and all, but she don't strike me as the aesthetic type."

" _Athletic_ ," Cameron corrected. "And there's still the woolly beavers to worry about too."

"But isn't Darby able to talk to animals though?" Lindsay asked. "Or was it that great singer from the last season, Eliza?"

"Not to worry friends," Brick said standing up. "I've no intentions to lose today. Or _any_ day for that matter! I'll do the Lions team proud!"

"Good to hear," Courtney said. "Now let's see you put your money where your mouth is soldier!"

The cadet replied with a salute. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!" He took one step forward to the lake and promptly fell on his face. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that he had accidentally tied his skates together.

"Now see, _that's_ one of the reasons I started wearing my boots, no laces." Lindsay said as Courtney palmed her face.

Eventually, Brick and Dawn were on the lake facing each other with hockey sticks in hand and Chef Hatchet standing between them. The woolly beavers were currently at the goals, waiting for someone to try and approach them.

"All right ya little snot-sicles," Chef told the two teens. "I want a _good_ game. So if you try something dirty, or anything that'll end with your opponent losin' a few teeth, that'll be just fine. Let's go!" He tossed a hockey puck into the air and blew a whistle before backing away as the puck hit the ice.

Brick immediately went for the puck and began to skate towards the Crickets' net, while Dawn on the other hand was finding herself having trouble to just stay standing.

"C'mon Dawn! You gotta go after him!" Tyler shouted from the sidelines.

"I'm sorry everyone!" Dawn called out as she wobbled. "I've never been too good at this sort of thing!"

"You can do it mate!" Jasmine cheered. "You just gotta focus!"

"Focus, right, I need to-" Dawn suddenly stopped moving. She gazed towards the woods, seemingly fixated on something that no one else could see.

"Uh hello! Pixie Dust!" Jo shouted in irritation. "You're in the middle of a _challenge_! Get moving!" The tomboy rounded on her team captain. "Say something already Star Child!"

"Is it me, or does she seem really worried about something?" Trent asked, not having noticed Jo's verbal barb towards him.

Meanwhile, despite Dawn not trying to get the puck away from him, Brick was having more than a little trouble scoring a goal. The two woolly beavers that had been standing at the Lions' goal had decided to join the ones that were at the Crickets' goal, and all four of them had decided to gang up on the cadet.

"I do realize that it was rather rude of me to tread upon your territory, and I'm very sorry for that," Brick said both slowly and nervously. "But if you would just be so kind as to allow me a shot at the net behind you, I can do what I need to do and be on my way."

The monstrous beavers looked at one another before grinning maliciously and pouncing onto Brick. The cadet screamed in terror as he tried to fight them off with his hockey stick, but one of the beavers effortlessly bit off a good chunk of it, leaving him weaponless.

"Good thing Dawn's spacing out so much, otherwise she would've won already," Amy whispered to Scott.

"That's really the only thing you have to say about this right now?" the schemer asked, to which the evil twin nodded. "Y'know, you're pretty cruel. Maybe we _could_ work together."

Back over to Brick, one of the beavers had his arms pinned down on the ice as the other three continued to attack him with their front paws. "Please! Can't we be reasona-" Brick tried to say but was cut off as he was hit in the face. "I honestly mean you no ha-" he tried again only to be hit once more. Brick's unibrow furrow as a beaver began to swing its front leg at him. This time however, Brick fought back with a mighty kick which caused the beaver to cry out in pain and back away.

This not only startled Brick's fellow campers, but the other beavers as well. The one that had been holding him down was so surprised that it let him go without realizing. Brick wasted no time in standing up and balling his right hand into a fist. The beaver closest to him shook off its shock and began to charge at the cadet with its teeth bared. "Stop..." Brick swiftly turned around and delivered a mighty punch to the beavers' face, "...pestering me!"

The punch sent the beaver back reeling. After regaining its balance, it turned and spat out its front teeth, much to everyone's surprise, Brick's included.

"Whoa," Chris said genuinely awestruck. "Not the kinda move I would expect from _Brick_ of all people."

"It's his military training kickin' in," Chef observed. "That boy's got some untapped potential underneath that wimpy disposition. I can _see_ it."

Brick however looked horrified over what he had done. "Aw geez, I-I'm sorry," he attempted to apologize. "Really, I'm awful sorry." But this went unheard by the woolly beavers, who had opted to turn tail and run.

"Dawn hurry up and get the puck away from him!" Tyler shouted to the moonchild. "I don't get it, why isn't she moving?"

"Yah, like something must totally be wrong," Staci noted. "An animal just got hurt and she isn't doing anything about it."

Dawn continued to stare towards the forest in a trancelike state, completely oblivious to everything else happening around her. "This aura," she whispered to herself. "It's the same as the one I sensed the other day, but it's in even more pain!" She raised a hand to her chest. "It's screaming! I need to find who this aura belongs to!"

She ran off, abandoning her hockey stick and the challenge, ignoring the cries of her teammates for her to stay.

"Dawn come back!" Trent shouted. When the moonchild continued to run off without so much as a word, he turned over to Jasmine. "Do you think you can go and bring her back? I don't think Chris will let those of us who are playing leave the area."

"Trent's got a point," Sammy chimed in. "And if something _is_ out there, there's no one who stands a better chance of helping her than you. I can look after Shawn for you."

"Thanks mate," the survivalist nodded. "Don't worry, I'll have her back in no time." She took off and disappeared into the woods after the moonchild.

"Brick now's your chance!" Courtney called out to the cadet. "Hurry and take the shot!"

"Huh?" the still stunned cadet looked down to see the puck by his feet. "O-Oh right! Of course!" Without a hockey stick, Brick decided to simply kick the puck, effectively sending it straight into the Cricket's net.

Chef blew on his whistle before Chris called out, "Aaaaand goal! First point goes to the Loquacious Lions, thanks to Brick!"

The Lions erupted in cheers as the cadet clumsily skated back to his team. "Brick that was amazing!" Cameron exclaimed to his friend. "How much adrenaline went into that punch?"

"Uh...I don't know," Brick replied before rubbing the back of his neck. "Too much, I guess. I didn't mean to hit him _that_ hard."

"Don't feel bad about it doll," Anne Maria said placing a hand on his shoulder. "It ain't like dose overgrown rats were goin' all too easy on _you_."

"Yeah, they were being really mean," Lindsay agreed. "And the way you stood up the them was like totally incredible!"

"Really?" Brick asked. "Wow, thanks."

"Let's get the second round underway folks!" Chris called out. "Though now sadly without our fantastic beasts. Dave and Sky, AKA the formerly adorable would be sweethearts, you're up!"

Dave sighed as he slowly made his way out onto the ice. "Let's just get this over with," he murmured.

Sky looked terrified, but nevertheless followed suit. "Do you think she can handle this?" Sammy asked Shawn, who was sitting with his back up against a tree. "Honestly, if it were anyone else on that team I'd say yes," the sick conspiracist sniffed. "But against him, I can't really say."

Chef once again stood at the center of the frozen lake holding the hockey puck aloft as Dave and Sky stood on either side of him. "Round two start!" he barked before blowing his whistle and dropping down the puck. He then left the area, but neither Dave nor Sky made an attempt at it, the former crossing his arms and turning away from his opponent.

"Come on people!" Chris called out. "Let's see some energy out there!" Neither one paid him any attention, Sky continuing to look guiltily at Dave who continued to ignore her. "Someone do something already!"

"Just go for it already Sky, he's not even doing anything!" Jo shouted before elbowing Trent. "How about you actually command someone like you're supposed to before they run off?"

"Hey go easy on her," Trent replied. "If you had actually bothered to watch the last season you'd know there's some tension between the two of them."

"Dave get your head in the game!" Courtney ordered. "You've got the advantage now hurry up and put it to good use!"

"Ugh! Fine already!" Dave groaned before turning around. Facing Sky once more, who still hadn't made a play for the puck, his frown only grew. "What do you want?"

"I..I want to apologize Dave," Sky stammered out, surprised that he was actually talking to her. "I can't tell you how much I regret all that I put you through. Please, please tell me, what I can do to make it up you!"

"What can you do? What can you _do?!_ " Dave suddenly shouted with such fierceness it startled Sky. "Oh gee, I dunno, how about giving me all the time I _wasted_ pining after you like a chump?! How about giving me back all the tears I cried over _you_?! How about giving me my _life_ back?!"

Sky was so taken aback by Dave's harsh harangue that she fell back on her bottom at a complete loss for words. She looked up to Dave whose head was now down and his fists shaking.

"I'll admit that I was never all that popular back home," he said, his voice starting to waver. "But coming back after you turned me down the way you did, I became a total laughingstock! Day after day people making fun of me, never letting up, all because of _you_!"

He looked up and angry tears were falling from his eyes. "Why can't you just...go _away_?!" he croaked out. Tears then began to well up in Sky's eyes as well as she somberly stood up and slowly walked off the ice.

"Sky..." Trent attempted to console her but she swiftly brushed him off and ran back to the campgrounds, now weeping freely. "Sky wait!" He began to chase after her but was swiftly pulled back by his shoulder.

"I'll go after her. It's like you said before, if you leave Chris might penalize us," Tyler told his friend before following after the gymnast. "Sky hold on a minute!"

Now with nothing in standing in his way, Dave hit the puck straight into the Crickets' net with a mighty swing and promptly skated off of the ice.

"There, are you happy now?" he coldly asked Courtney before leaving the area. The Lions' captain was stunned and did not say anything. In fact, everyone on both sides wore looks of shock and sadness over what had just happened.

"Umm...yeah," Chris awkwardly began. "That's another point for the Lions who lead with two to nothing...Wow."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Tyler - "I had to go after Sky. I just feel so bad for her! That could've easily been me and Lindsay out there! Although, I don't think Lindsay would've been as harsh. I get that Dave is still hurting but...Man! Was that _all_ he came back for? To just lash out at her like that?"

Dave - _*Still heavily sobbing before pausing to look around and then slowly begin to start laughing.*_ Funny thing, I've cried so many times that I've pretty much learned how to fake it and they all bought it hook, line and sinker. But that little performance was just the tip of the iceberg. Before this season's over, I'm going to make sure _everyone_ on this show is even _more_ miserable than I am! Not just Sky, _everyone_! Everyone on this crappy showis going down!"

* * *

"Aww man, this is a disaster!" Trent lamented. The Crickets captain sat down cross-legged on the snow and fished out his buffalo nickel out of his coat pocket, tapping the coin against the side of his head. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine."

"Calling it a disaster's the understatement of the year," Jo sneered. "You better not pull that same crap against _your_ old flame, or I know _exactly_ who to vote off if we lose!"

"Trent would never do that!" Cody said coming to his friend's defense, though Jo hardly looked convinced.

"I'd more readily believe that if not for the fact that he _has_ done it before," she countered. "Who's to say he won't do it again in some pathetic attempt to win her back?"

"Me!" Cody shot back. "Because he's over her! He and I both am!" The tech geek was quickly met with several stares of disbelief. "What? We are!"

"Now I know you're lying," Jo said. "You two have been obsessed with Gothball since day one!"

"Will you guys keep it down?" Trent looked up at the two quarreling campers, apparently not having heard the conversation. "I can't think with the two of you yelling so much!" he turned back and continued his mantra. "One, two, three, four, five..." he stopped and placed his free hand on the other side of his head, realizing that he was still wearing his helmet. Standing up, he looked to his team and saw that none of them had taken theirs off either. "That's it! Huddle up everyone, I've got an idea!"

The Crooning Crickets did as he ordered, and Trent quietly relayed his plan to them. "Oh em gee, I think that could really work!" Sammy exclaimed as the team broke apart.

"Yah, my great-great-great-great Uncle Theodore used to do that thing all the time back when he opened up the very first-" Staci tried to begin another one of her tall tales, only to be cut off by the sound of Chris whistling.

"It's about time to get the third in this series of bloodbaths going," the host announced. "Gwen, Trent, let's see some action!"

Gwen tentatively left her team, with Courtney weakly calling out, "Good luck," only for a glare to be sent back her way. The former couple stood across from one another as Chef took his place in between them.

"You're...not gonna do anything like what Dave just did, are you?" Gwen nervously asked her ex.

"What? No!" Trent answered. "Why would I do something like that?"

"Hush up! It's hockey time!" Chef Hatchet shouted before blowing his whistle and dropping the puck between the two. Gwen immediately went for the puck and began to skate towards the goal. Trent calmly took off his helmet as he turned around.

"Crickets, now!" he called out before throwing the helmet over Gwen's head, taking the goth by surprise. The helmet hit the side of the Crickets' goal and ricocheted off, landing right in front of Gwen's feet. Before anyone could blink, eight more helmets were soon tossed onto the ice, one covering up the puck. The Lions collectively gaped as they saw all of the present Crooning Crickets cheer their captain on.

"Better hurry and catch up," Trent said to himself as he took a step forward. Unfortunately, his lack of skates resulted in him falling forward and landing on his stomach. "Ouch..." the musician groaned, but then his expression quickly brightened. "Wait, this is better!" He pushed his body back slightly before thrusting himself across the ice, allowing him to quickly catch up to his opponent.

"What are you doing?" Gwen said in confusion.

"Don't think about it Gwen! Just hit all of them into the goal!" Eva shouted.

"I've got a better idea," Trent said placing his hands on two of the helmets. "How about we play a different kind of game instead?" Before Gwen could reply, he began to shuffle around all nine of the helmets as fast as he could. After a minute or so, Trent sat back up on his bottom and slid back, offering Gwen the chance to select one.

The goth's eyes darted around rapidly, unsure of which one to choose. "Oh, screw it!" she exclaimed winding up her hockey stick. One by one she began to slap every helmet straight into the Crickets' net, Trent barely having enough time to slip away before he ended up being hit as well.

"Sha-dang! Scary girl's actually pretty good!" Lightning said with widened eyes.

"While that may be true, the Lions can only receive the point _if_ Gwen actually hit the puck into the goal," Chris pointed out after overhearing the jock. "Just having a bunch of helmets in there isn't gonna do you guys diddly."

"Are you kidding Chris?" Courtney asked the host. "She hit every single one into the goal, how could the puck _not_ there?"

"I'm not making a bona fide ruling until I see a bona fide hockey puck," Chris replied with his arms crossed. "Gwen, will you get rid of the helmets or do I have to send Ref Chef out there?"

"Fine," Gwen said begrudgingly as she began to skate towards the goal. "But only because I want nothing more than to hurry this along and get back inside." Once she reached the net, she knelt down and began to toss the helmets aside. However, by the time she had thrown the last one away, it could be seen that the puck wasn't underneath a single one of them.

"What in the world?" the goth asked confounded. "It should be right here! What the heck happened to it?" A whistle caused her to turn around and see Trent standing right by the Loquacious Lions' goal over on the opposite side of the lake. The musician reached into his sleeve and pulled out the puck. Dropping it back down onto the ice, he gave it a small tap of his foot and it was in the goal.

"Whoa! Okay, now _that_ puts the Crooning Crickets on the board with their first point!" Chris declared causing the aforementioned team to erupt in cheers.

"What? There's no way something like that can be considered legal!" Courtney shouted in defiance, but the host simply shook his head.

"Maybe in regular hockey it wouldn't be legal, but this is _Total Drama_ hockey," Chris countered. "A point is counted as long as a player causes the puck to land in the appropriate goal, and Trent did just that. Although there wasn't as much awkwardness as I would've liked, the ruling still stands."

"Hmmph, Mop Top's lucky he didn't try that stunt on me this morning," Chef noted.

"Good game, eh Gwen?" Trent called out to his ex girlfriend. He then tried to slide back over to his team, only to end up falling again, this time on his back. "Ow..."

"Uh...yeah, good...good game," the goth girl slowly replied, still stunned at what had happened.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Gwen - "Okay, well I can't say I saw any of _that_ coming. I don't think I ever could have imagined Trent coming up with a plan like that. He's definitely more focused on the game this time. Now that I think about it, how long has it been since I last really talked to him?"

* * *

"Nice one bro! You totally pulled it off!" Cody praised Trent as his friend finally reached his team.

"Thanks, but it was only because of you guys," Trent replied as he stood up and dusted himself off. "The plan went perfectly everyone, nice job."

"I wouldn't smile yet if I were you," Jo said with her arms crossed. "In case you've forgotten your math, one out of five does not a victory make. If we lose the next one, we're still hosed!"

"Ah yes, but in case _you've_ forgotten Jo, B's up next," Trent said jerking a thumb in the silent genius's direction. "And if _I_ can come up with a plan to get us a point, I've no doubt he can too. Right big man?" B nodded and gave his captain a thumbs up before grabbing a hockey stick and carefully making his way out onto the ice.

"Oh and incidentally, you're wrong," the musician told the tomboy.

"Excuse me?" Jo asked with a raised brow.

"I heard what you said," Trent replied. "And I'll have you know that I _am_ over Gwen and have no intentions to try and get her back so you won't have to worry about me throwing any challenges."

"Is that so?" Jo said, still sounding skeptical.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Trent - "Truth be told, I've decided to take a break from romance for awhile. A _long_ break. My last three relationships all ended horribly and I'm really not in any mood to try and put myself through all that again. I just came back here to make some new friends, reconnect with my old ones and maybe win a little scratch. Is there really anything wrong with that?"

* * *

Gwen quietly made her way back to her team, ignoring the criticisms being hurled toward her, courtesy of those such as Lightning, Scott and Amy. Courtney had attempted to talk to her but was called out onto the ice by Chris before she could say anything.

"Right, my turn now," she said taking a moment to lace up her skates. A loud and fierce sounding roar began to echo throughout the area, causing her to snap back up in surprise. "Oh no, don't tell me..."

"That it would appear that some of the woolly beavers have gotten their second wind and are coming back?" Chris finished for her with an impish smile. A few more roars were then heard, now much louder than before. "Okay, I won't tell you. However I will happily tell you that it sounds as though they've brought a friend or two along."

Brick's knees began to shake as his eyes grew wide. "Oh dear," he said nervously before he was swiftly pushed onto the ground by Anne Maria. He lifted his head up to see the Jersey girl covering his body with snow. "What in the Sam Hill are you doing to me?" the cadet asked before Lindsay's gloved hand went over his mouth.

"Shh! Brendan! Don't say anything!" the ditzy girl shushed him. "Those beavers can't go after you if they can't find you!" Before Brick could reply, Anne Maria had yanked off his hat and placed it over his face.

"Just pipe down and try not to fall asleep," she instructed him. "We'll dig you out once dose beavers are gone."

Their timing could not have been more perfect, for no sooner had Anne Maria finished her sentence did three woolly beavers emerge from the woods, viciously growling. The one that had lost its front teeth had been replaced by a beaver that not only looked to be bigger, but meaner as well. The three began to tread onto the frozen lake, much to the dread of the Loquacious Lion currently standing there.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap..." Courtney repeatedly swore.

"Girl, will you quit your bellyachin' already?" Chef grumbled in annoyance. "You don't wanna get eaten? Then hurry up and score a goal!"

Hearing that, Courtney broke free from her fear driven state and broke into an irritated expression. "Well if it's that easy then why don't you demonstrate it for us?" she snapped back. Chef simply ignored her and raised the puck into the air, serving as a signal to the CIT and B to get ready.

"How can you be so calm about all of this?" Courtney asked her opponent, who looked thoughtful for a moment before replying with a simple shrug. "Wow, a real conversationalist, aren't you?" she said in a deadpan tone. Chef then blew his whistle and dropped the puck before skating off. "Round four, start!"

The woolly beavers had taken the act as a sign to charge, and immediately began to run towards the two campers.

"This is bad!" Courtney exclaimed as she looked out of the corner of her eye to see that B had already left. "Where are you going?" To everyone's surprise, the mute genius was sliding over to the Crickets' goal, leaving Courtney, the puck and the encroaching beavers behind him.

"Hey, Silent Treatment!" Jo shouted from the sidelines. "Did no one ever teach you the rules of this game? Players are supposed to head towards their _opponents'_ nets, not their own! And they usually do it _with_ the hockey puck!"

"Uh Jo? Do you think you could maybe...I dunno, ease up a little?" Sammy tentatively asked. "It's not like he has much of a choice, all of the beavers are right in front of the Lions' goal."

"Yeah, your attitude has been sick all day," Shawn agreed. "And _not_ in a good way."

"Oh and like you're one to talk about anything being sick, Snot-cicle!" the tomboy shot back.

Meanwhile back out on the ice, Courtney was attempting to escape the wrath of the woolly beavers, a task proving to be difficult due to the surprising speed the prehistoric rodents possessed. Every time she managed to skate away from one of them, another was right in her path just waiting for her to get close.

"Ugh, this is hopeless!" the Lions captain screamed in frustration. "Don't you monsters have anything better to do?" She opened her eyes and soon found that all three had encircled her, the largest one standing right in front of her with its mouth open. "Uh oh..."

"I can't watch!" Cameron said crouching down and covering his eyes.

"Not to worry," Chris called over to him. "We make sure to never erase the footage of the worst injuries! Those make up the best parts of each episodes!"

Courtney's grip on her hockey stick tightened as she looked up to the looming beaver with steely eyes. "You know what?" she said, no longer sounding afraid. "I have had enough!" She jabbed the lie of the stick into the stomach of the beaver that was behind her, forcing it backward. She then skated to the largest beaver and used the other end of the stick to strike it on the nose, effectively causing it to close its maw. Unfortunately, this also snapped the stick in half, and there was still one beaver left standing.

"Well this is just great," Courtney said sarcastically as she tossed the broken piece of equipment aside. The third woolly beaver snarled at her, incensed at having its comrades attacked. Just as it was about to pounce onto Courtney, a roar from one of the others caused it to stop. It and Courtney looked over to see the largest beaver sniffing the air, now appearing to be curious at something. The other two plodded over to it and the three began to chatter, much to everyone's confusion.

The largest beaver pointed with its nose over to Courtney's discarded hockey stick and let out a loud grunt. The Lions' captain picked it up and held it before the beasts. "Wait, are you saying that you want this?" she asked slowly. All three beavers nodded and the CIT gave it a closer look. "Hold on," her eyes widened in realization. "This is made from birch wood!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lindsay asked.

"Birch is one of the many different types of wood that is a part of the North American beaver's diet," Cameron explained to her. "I guess that's applicable to the woolly beavers as well."

Having heard this, Courtney sported a victorious smirk. "You want this?" she asked the woolly beavers as she waved the stick in front of them. The beavers excitedly nodded with their tongues hanging out of their drooling mouths. "Huh? Huh? You beavers want a special treat?" Courtney turned over to the forest that the creatures had originally came from and threw both pieces of the stick as far away from the lake as she could. "Then go get it!"

The second the wood left her hands, all three of the beavers eagerly gave chase, leaving the area without danger once more. Giving a satisfied sigh, Courtney turned to the Crickets' goal which now only had a teetering B in front of it. "Have you seriously been standing there doing nothing?" the CIT asked in disbelief. In spite of his difficulty in just standing up, B managed to reply with a shake of his head.

"Oh whatever," Courtney said as she began to skate towards the hockey puck. "Let's just end this already!" Without a hockey stick to use, Courtney gave the puck a powerful kick once she reached it, sending it sailing straight towards the Cricket's net.

B did not appear the least bit worried in spite of the incoming puck. The silent genius took off his baseball cap and threw it down in front of his feet. The puck bounced off the cap and slid onto what many of the campers now saw as a recently carved circle of ice, gently bobbing on the cold lake water.

"Hold on a minute," Gwen said. "When did he have the time to make that?"

"I guess the rest of use were so focused on Courtney fending off the beavers that we didn't notice," Cameron replied. "It probably helped that he never said anything to alert anyone's attention."

Carefully easing his way over to the circle, B then stomped on it, causing it to tilt and send the puck soaring at breakneck speed. Before Courtney had a chance to get in front of her team's goal, the puck crashed into the net, much to the ire of the Loquacious Lions.

"Whoa-ho-ho! What a show that was!" Chris observed from the sidelines. "Despite Courtney's impressive performance against the woolly beavers, this round's point ultimately goes to the Crooning Crickets, thanks to B, proving that both quietude and some extra pounds can be used to one's advantage! That leaves things all tied up and the next round will decide the whole game!"

"No!" Courtney angrily exclaimed. "You mean to tell me that I was nearly beaver breakfast for nothing?!" She glowered towards B, who was picking his cap up and placing it back on his head. "Better enjoy today while you can B! Next time, I will _not_ lose to you, or your cheap tricks!"

B nervously swallowed a lump in his throat as Courtney got off of the ice and began to take off her skates.

"Let's hope that there actually _will_ be a next time for you," Scott sneered as he walked up to her. "After all that, you'd have to pay people not to vote you off tonight." Courtney's head whipped around and sent her ex a vicious glare, taking him by surprise.

"Shut up! Just shut up already you clod!" she snarled. "I am _not_ in the mood!" She tossed one of her skates over her shoulder, just as Brick emerged from the snow by sitting back up. "What happened? Did we win?" he asked as he took his hat off of his face, right before Courtney's chucked skate hit him in the back of the head, causing him to fall back onto the ground.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Brick - _*Holding an ice pack on his head*_ Don't you just hate it when you miss something that everyone else saw?"

* * *

"Well all right then, how's about we wrap this thing up?" Chris rhetorically asked. "Cody, Max, it's time for one of you to break this tie so let's see what you got!"

"Oh I'll show you what I've got Chris," Max pompously said. "I'll show the whole world all of the evi-Aaaahhh!" he was cut off by Eva picking him up and throwing him onto the frozen lake.

"Will you just hurry up and get this over with already?!" the iron woman growled as she tossed the self-proclaimed super-villain's skates at him. "I can barely feel my toes for crying out loud!"

"Woman, you are raring yourself up to be the first target of my latest doomsday machine!" Max warned before he was hit in the face by Eva throwing his hockey stick at him. "I'm a little teapot short and stout..." he dazedly said before falling on his face.

Cody shook his head chuckling as he made his way out onto the ice. "Dude, you clearly don't seem to know one of life's most important rules," he said down to the woozy wannabe villain. "If the ladies in your life aren't happy, then no one is happy."

"Laugh while you can cretin," Max replied as he stood up without bothering to put on his skates. "I shall make easy work of you and claim my victory!"

"Final round, begin!" Chef called out before blowing his whistle and throwing the puck between the two campers.

"You know before, there's actually something that I've been meaning to ask you about," Cody said. "Your evil backstory. None of us have ever heard about your _evil_ origins."

"Really?" Max asked with widened eyes. Cody shot him a finger pistol and nodded, causing him to swell with pride. "Well all right, if you insist..." But before he could begin, several of his teammates began to groan in exasperation.

"You sha-dingus! The squirt's just trying to distract you!" Lightning chastised him. "Get your head outta your shorts and get moving already!"

"Feh, such lowly jealousy," Max said dismissively. "They just can't seem to accept the fact that someone wants to hear the greatness that is my evil beginning." He turned around to face Cody, only to have a hockey stick broken over his head, causing him to fall down onto the ice a second time.

"Yeah, imagine that," Cody grinned as he scooped up the hockey puck. "By the by, you really shouldn't have taken your helmet off you know."

"A-tisket, a-tasket, I lost my yellow basket..." Max muttered in reply.

Seeing Max's skates, Cody sat down and quickly put them on before picking the puck back up and effortlessly tossing it into the Lions' goal. "Well, that was pretty easy," the geek said as his teammates broke out into a chorus of whoops and cheers.

"And pretty anticlimactic for my tastes," Chris said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "But nevertheless, the last point goes to Cody which means the Crooning Crickets have won the challenge! And for your reward, you will be treated to a hot, delicious meal prepared by the best cook to ever have been on Total Drama!"

Many of the Crickets ceased their celebration after hearing this. "Wait, you mean we'll just get dinner that's been made by Chef?" Jo asked to which Chris snorted.

"Uh no, I mean by someone who actually _can_ cook," Chris replied, ignoring the hateful glare Chef was giving him. "Well known momma's boy and animal lover DJ, who's in the kitchen getting started as we speak!"

"Oh man, this is gonna rock!" Cody exclaimed. "You guys haven't lived unless you've eaten some of DJ's food!"

"As for the Loquacious Lions, you all will be eating the Chef Hatchet special; disgusting gruel," Chris told the losers who all began to voice their complaints. The host did not listen to them and went on to say, "However, you will get to have dessert tonight, in the form of marshmallowy exemptions from elimination. That is except for one, who gets the great _honor_ of being the guinea pig for this season's new method of going home! See you at the bonfire!"

"Well Lightning knows who he'll be voting for!" Lightning said as he began to trudge back towards the campgrounds.

"So do I," Eva grunted as she followed him. Many of the other campers nodded before leaving as well, leaving behind Max, who was just beginning to come around.

"What happened?" the villain wannabe wondered before looking around to see that everyone had left. "Where'd everybody go?"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "Well I'll admit that I might've lost, but I don't think I'll need too worry about being sent home just yet."

* * *

Later that evening, the Crooning Crickets were gathered up in the mess hall for their celebratory dinner. As happy as some of the campers were to meet DJ, such happiness paled in comparison to what was felt the minute they saw what the gentle giant had laid out for them. Having decided to prepare barbeque for everyone, DJ had the winning team drooling as soon as they caught of whiff of what he had made; ribs, smoked chicken, corn on the cob, coleslaw, baked beans, brisket, baked potatoes and plenty of buttered biscuits to go around.

"Eat up y'all, I don't want there to be any leftovers," DJ said cheerily as he handed out the plates. He would soon regret saying that as several of the Crickets nearly bowled him over in a mad dash to fill up their plates with as much food as possible.

"Aw man, is this good!" Rodney exclaimed as he polished off his third rib. "My uncle works in a barbecue restaurant but nothing there is anything like this! Where did you get the recipe? He'd pay you through the nose for it if he could have a taste!"

"Sorry dude, but I'm sword to secrecy," DJ replied kindly. "Momma and I went down to Missouri so I could learn straight from my great grandma who created it herself. I'm not allowed to share it with anyone outside of the family."

"Well then how about another serving at least?" Jo asked, her mouth now almost completely covered in barbecue sauce. "Seriously, this stuff could be my last meal and I'd easily die a happy death!" DJ took up her plate and quickly obliged as it was always a pleasure for him to see his cooking being eaten so heartily.

However not everyone in the hall was in a good mood. Though Tyler had managed to convince Sky to come and join everyone, she was much too depressed to eat. The red-clad jock placed a hand on her shoulder as he offered her a plate.

"Sky I get how you feel but you've gotta have something!" he insisted. "This may be the only chance we get all season to have a meal this good! Believe me, it'll help you feel better!" But to his dismay, the gymnast shook her head.

"Thank you Tyler, but I don't think it will," she said sadly. "I'm not even sure that I _want_ to feel better."

"Oh, now you shouldn't be saying stuff like that," DJ said as he walked up to her with something hidden behind his back. "Trent told me what happened. And while I may not know how to fix your problem, I can at least offer you this." He placed a plate in front of her with a god-sized piece of chocolate fudge cake on it. "Momma always says that it isn't right to have dessert before dinner but, she also says that there's an exception to every rule. Just one though."

Cody's jaw dropped in awe the minute he caught sight of the cake. "Must have fudge..." he said slowly getting up, only to be yanked back down into his seat and be presented with a corn on the cob.

"Remember what we said about you cutting back on chocolate?" Trent asked his friend. "Your mom told me that she doesn't want you getting any more cavities while you're out here."

Cody cast the cool guy a sour look before begrudgingly taking a bite of corn. Sky meanwhile initially tried to refuse the cake but after getting a bigger whiff she gave in and began eating.

"Well that's a relief," Sammy said to Shawn. "I still can't believe Dave said all of those things to her. Was their relationship really that bad?" Shawn wiped his nose on his sleeve and sniffed before shrugging.

"I don't really think I'm the best person to ask," he replied. "I mean, I caused Jasmine so much grief when we first met that it's a miracle she's with me at all." He gazed towards the door of the mess hall and grew a worried look. "I hope she and Dawn get here soon. I wonder why they had to go to the infirmary."

Shawn's question was soon answered as the doors to the mess hall were open and Jasmine along with a very despondent looking Dawn came inside. Much to the shock of everyone present, Jasmine's right arm and both of Dawn's arms were now bandaged.

"Oh my goodness!" DJ exclaimed after just having exited the kitchen with more food. "What happened to the two of you?"

"We were attacked," Jasmine replied as she sat down next to Shawn. "But by what I don't know. What I do know is that it was a fast little bugger."

"Are you both okay?" Sammy asked in concern, to which Jasmine offered a small smile.

"Don't worry mates, it's nothing serious," the Australian said. "It's just a few shallow scratches, Dawn and I will be fine." She then looked up and saw that Dawn was now sitting by herself with her head on the table, not having said a word to anyone when they had come. "Physically fine anyway," she added now frowning slightly.

"What's the matter with Dawn?" Cody asked. "I don't think I've ever seen her so upset."

"Yeah, I was wanting to chew her out for bailing out on us, but even I'm not _that_ mean," Jo said, causing some of her teammates to stare at her. "What? Most of the time I'm not!"

"Whatever that thing in the forest was, I'm pretty sure Dawn knew," Jasmine said in a hushed voice. "But she wouldn't tell me no matter how many times I asked. She kept muttering over how she couldn't help it."

"Yah, my great-great-great-great Aunt Rita invented muttering," Staci blurted out. "Before her, everyone just spoke in really loud and obnoxious voices." This comment was quickly met with several glares aimed at the chatterbox, causing her to shrink back and shut her mouth.

"Well even if she couldn't help that thing, maybe those of us here can help _her_ at least," DJ suggested before walking over to Trent. "Do you think you can go grab your guitar and play..." he whispered the rest into Trent's ear and the cool musician soon broke out into a smile.

"That's a great idea DJ, I love that song!" Trent praised the gentle giant. "BRB everyone." He ran out of the mess hall and a couple of minutes later, returned with his signature instrument in tow.

He walked up to the moonchild and tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned to face him, he was sitting on top of the next table over, offering her a kind smile. Dawn opened her mouth to speak, but Trent began talking before she could.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask you if you wanna talk about it," he said. "Just know that if you ever need to, we're here. And if you ever need help with what you felt out there well, we're here. But in the meantime, how's about a song to get our minds off of how cold it is outside?" He then began to play a slow, soothing melody.

 _"Inch by inch, row by row_

 _Gonna make this garden grow_

 _All it takes is a rake and a how_

 _And a piece of fertile ground_

 _Inch by inch, row by row_

 _Someone bless these seeds I sow_

 _Someone warm them from below_

 _'Til the rain comes tumbling down_

 _Pulling weeds and picking stones_

 _Man is made from of dreams and bones_

 _Feel the need to grow my own_

 _'Cause the time is close at hand_

 _Rain for grain, sun and rain_

 _Find my way in nature's chain_

 _Tune my body and my brain_

 _To the music of the land_

 _Plant your rows straight and long_

 _Temper them with prayer and song_

 _Mother Earth will make you strong_

 _If you give her love and care_

 _Old crow watching hungrily_

 _From his perch in yonder tree_

 _In my garden I'm as free_

 _As that feathered thief up there..."_

(Trent waved the others over to him as he sang, and soon Cody, DJ, Jasmine and B had joined him. Though B didn't sing as everyone else did, he did hum along.)

 _"Inch by inch, row by row_

 _Gonna make this garden grow_

 _All it takes is a rake and a hoe_

 _And a piece of fertile ground_

 _Inch by inch, row by row_

 _Someone bless these seeds I sow_

 _Someone warm them from below_

 _'Til the rain comes tumbling down."_

After everyone stopped singing, those still seated had broken out into applause. Trent set his guitar down and looked to Dawn. Before he could say anything, the moonchild swiftly embraced him, burying her head in his chest.

"Thank you everyone," she looked up with tears running down her face, though still with a smile. "I'm sorry for..." Despite Trent being taken aback for a moment, he nevertheless smiled and gently patted her on the back. "There, there," he said consolingly. "There, there."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

DJ - "I knew that'd help. My momma taught me that song way back when I was a kid and seeing what Dawn was like on Revenge of the Island, I'd figured she'd like it.

Dawn - "That was beautiful! _*She wipes away her tears.*_ I can't let a little setback stop me from helping that poor soul I found, I need to go back! Oh, that's right. I didn't tell anyone what it was. You see, it was actually- _*The camera battery dies before she can finish.*_

* * *

As this was happening, the Loquacious Lions were gathered at the campfire pit, seated on stumps while the host stood behind an oil drum. On the top of said drum was a plate with several marshmallows upon it.

"Campers, I have eleven marshmallows with me tonight," Chris began. "But before the voting that determines which one of you will _not_ be getting one, Courtney?" The Lions' captain stood up from her seat as Chris clapped his hands, beckoning Chef Hatchet who was carrying a silver tray with a s'more on it.

"Lo and behold everyone; the Immunity S'more," Chris said dramatically. "Only one person may receive this delectable treat and thus, have total exemption from tonight's vote. Courtney, the decision on who gets it is yours but remember, you _cannot_ keep it for yourself."

Courtney nodded and took the s'more off of the plate. Turning to face her team, she took a deep breath before saying, "Okay. I've been thinking about this all night and I choose Brick to receive immunity." In spite of numerous complaints from some of the others, she gave the s'more to the cadet, who looked very surprised to have it.

"Wow, gee, I don't know what to say ma'am," Brick said. "Except well, thank you."

"Don't worry about it," Courtney told him with a smile. "You earned it. Out of everyone who played hockey today, you definitely played the best game."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam *now with a new battery*)**

Courtney - "Not to mention that I kinda owe him one after hitting him the head with that ice skate earlier."

* * *

"All right, with that out of the way, the voting can commence," Chris said picking up a stack of photographs. "This is going to be done the same way as it was in All-Stars; just draw an X on the picture of the camper that you want gone and remember, any votes for Brick will not be counted. At least for tonight."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Lightning - "Sha-duh!"

Lindsay - "I'm voting for Mack. I-I mean Mel! No, I mean Moe! I mean...Oh! What's the name of the little boy with ugly purple hair again?"

Dave - "Max. I'm really not even sure if he's human or not."

Sierra - _*She's still tied up in scarves and can only mumble incoherently.*_

Anne Maria - "Max is _so_ going down! Dat stupid avanlanchee he caused almost ruined my pouf!"

* * *

"And the votes are in," Chris said. "Now normally, I like to drag this out for as long as possible because well, the viewing audience and myself really love to see you kids squirm. However, due to the fact that the nearly all of the votes were for the same person, I see no point in it this time." He picked up a marshmallow. "Get ready and...Gwen, Eva, Anne Maria, Cameron, Scott, Lindsay, Dave, Lightning, Sierra, Amy and Courtney. You are all safe tonight!"

Each of the named campers were tossed a marshmallow. All of them were caught with much enthusiasm and relief, except for the one intended for Sierra, which bounced off of her tied up torso. Max, who had been wearing an expression of smug confidence, suddenly looked at Chris's plate in despair. There were no marshmallows left.

"Max, you are the first camper to be voted out of Total Drama: Once Again," Chris told the villain wannabe. "I would say that I'm sorry, but since I'm not, I won't. Time for you to go."

"What?!" Max cried in disbelief. "This is impossible! I demand a recount!"

"Dude, the only vote that wasn't for you was for Courtney and you were the one to cast it," Chris said with a furrowed brow. "You're done like dinner. Chef!" The army cook came and easily picked Max up by the collar of his shirt before heading down to the docks.

A few minutes later, the twelve remaining Loquacious Lions were standing with Chris on the docks. Located at the end was an enormous white rocket with a red nose cone and fins. Max was now sitting inside of the rocket's cockpit, his hands strapped to his seat as a means of preventing him from touching any of the controls.

"Presenting, the Rocket of Shame!" Chris announced excitedly. "Patent pending." He pulled out a remote before turning to the eliminated Max. "Any final words?"

"Why yes actually," Max said struggling to free his hands. "I've a list but I can't reach my pocket." Chris pressed a large red button on the remote which immediately closed the clear dome over the cockpit, muffling any further words Max attempted to say.

"I can never understand why you guys keep falling for that," the host said jovially. "But since it makes things fun for me, I don't care. Heh! Later!" He pressed the red button again, now sending the rocket up into the air and far, far away from Boney Island.

"And just like that, things have gotten at least ten times quieter among the Loquacious Lions!" Chris declared now facing the camera with a grin. "The question is, will things get any better for them? Not if I can help it, and I have every intention to! See for yourselves next time on Total!...Drama!...Once Again!"

* * *

 **(Bonus Clip, Location: Oulu, Finland)**

As the Rocket of Shame soared through the air, the dome over the cockpit opened up and a screaming Max was ejected out with a parachute pack in hand.

"Chris McLean you egregious egomaniac!" the 'super-villain' cursed as he began to put the pack on. "It may not be today, nor tomorrow, but I shall have my revenge on you _and_ those loathsome blighters who had the audacity to vote me off!" He then pulled the cord, but instead of a parachute, all that was released were several rubber duckies.

"Mommy," Max whimpered as the bath toys rose up above his head. He began to flail his arms and scream before plummeting into a large lake that had several small ice floes floating around in it. Quickly resurfacing, he started to doggie-paddle to the one nearest to him. Upon reaching it, he was soon greeted by a small baby seal.

"You! Disgustingly adorable little walrus!" he shouted at the young animal, pointing his index finger at it. "I am your new master! Bequeath your fur to me this instant!" The baby seal responded by biting his hand, causing him to cry out in pain.

"AAAAHH! WHY DO ALL OF MY MINIONS HATE ME?!"

* * *

 ** _End of Episode 2_**

* * *

And there it is. It took me a lot longer than I intended, but the first elimination of the season is done. Sorry to anyone who was hoping that Max would go far, but he was planned to be the first one out for a very long time. You see, when selecting this cast, I was looking for characters who could be deeply explored and funny as he can be, Max is just really one-dimensional. Even back when Scarlett was there for him to interact with, he never made any serious growth or contributions so when I was looking through the contestants and wondering who would be perfect as cannon fodder (or rocket fodder in this case), he seemed to be the natural choice. But since a number of you weren't expecting him to last too long, I don't think I'll be breaking anyone's hearts.

Again I am so very sorry for taking so long to update this. When it comes to writing something, what I like to do is look through what my readers hope to see, compare them with what I want to do, and try to find a perfect mixture of both. Even without things such as school and work, the whole process can be pretty tough. But if you all like what you've read, then it's worth it to me. I don't want to write just a good story, I want to write a _great_ one. So far pretty much all of the feedback I've been given on this has been positive and well, I don't want that to end.

A few other things I'd like to discuss before ending this chapter, Trent really is over his feelings for Gwen. So many stories I've read have had him obsessing over getting her back in spite of how long it's been since the break up, it gets more than a little grating from time to time. While the writers may not have written the break up well, like at all, I can't argue too much with their reasoning; not every couple that gets together at sixteen is guaranteed a happily ever after. Gwen moved on, so I see no reason as to why Trent couldn't do the same. However I should also say that right now, Gwen is really confused about Trent right now considering that one day he performs a kind gesture and the next he leaves her on a team he knows she wouldn't want to be on. Also, while his teammates did hear him say he was over her, she did not. What will that lead to? I know, but I'm not gonna tell.

The Garden Song, sung by a handful of the Crooning Crickets and DJ, does not belong to me. It was originally written in 1975 by David Mallett and was popularized by artists such as John Denver and Peter, Paul and Mary.

Lastly, a couple of questions. First, do you guys think that this season should have at least one Aftermath episode? Second, as a separate story, what are your thoughts on an AU about the Total Drama characters living in the Pokémon universe?

As always, please review (they make me so happy!), spread the word of this story around and I'll see you all next time!

This is Explorer of the Unknown signing out. Stay frosty!


	5. Episode 3, Part 1

**Surprise! Guess who's back?**

* * *

 ** _Episode 3: Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Garbage, Part 1_**

* * *

 _(Narrated by Chris McLean)_

"Last time on Total Drama Once Again!...The weather outside was frightful, so of course we had the challenge right smack dab in the middle of it! Before any action could commence however, the excruciatingly arduous task of creating teams occurred. Courtney selected several competitors who either possessed great strength or great wit. Unfortunately for her, a good chunk of them also possess a great desire to not be _anywhere_ near her! Trent on the other hand, managed to form a motley crew made up of freaks, geeks, and weirdos, a majority of whom actually _do_ like having him around. Which of these two ragtag bunches of misfits will prove to be superior to the other? Eh, who really cares? They're _all_ just a bunch of losers!

After the first challenge, which was far too traumatic for me to even _think_ about, the Loquacious Lions and Crooning Crickets had to race down a mountain before squaring off against each other in a hockey match that featured some rather _beastly_ spectators! All seemed to be going fine, until Max decided to start shouting for the eighty-seventh time about how 'evil' he is which ended up causing an avalanche that almost killed everyone. That coupled with losing the tiebreaker for the Lions in a rather pathetic fashion made him the first of this season's cast to blast off in our brand spanking new Rocket of Shame!

I for one, will not miss that kid. Listening to him talk was like watching a bad eighties cartoon. With Max gone, will the Lions be able to pull out a win? Or will the Crickets' seemingly stronger sense of camaraderie allow them another victory?

Keep your hands off the remote and you'll find out right now on Total...Drama...Once Again!"

* * *

 _(Fade to Opening Theme)_

 _(Lights and cameras begin to suddenly appear in different areas on Boney Island; a camera emerges from a knothole right above the head of a bear leaning against the tree, another pops out of the sand, startling a flock of Stymphalian Canadian geese and causing them to hiss at it before flying away. A clapperboard is brought before the camera and clapped before a fly by shot of the new, yet dilapidated camp; Chris McLean is being fanned by two irritated-looking interns right before the lyrics begin.)_

Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;

 _(The camera passes through the wilderness, avoiding a confrontation between two Woolly Beavers before panning up the skull-faced cliff at the island's center and then turning for a bird's eye view towards the coast.)_

You guys are on my mind!

 _(The camera quickly descends into what is an underwater shot, bubbles surrounding the lens quickly disperse to show Cody in his swimming trunks desperately trying to swim away from a bikini clad Sierra, the latter with a greedy look in her eye.)_

Ya asked me what I wanted to be,

 _(Above the water's surface in a canoe, Trent was shown with a fishing pole in his left hand smiling at Sammy who is bashfully twirling her hair as she moves her left hand closer to his right.)_

And now I think the answer is plain to see!

 _(Cody is then seen climbing up Trent's line and jumping into the canoe, wrapping his arms around him and Sammy, causing the two of them to awkwardly look at him. Sierra is then shown surfacing and begins to scream once she sees what's happening.)_

I wanna be...famous!

 _(The scene then changes to the forest to where Dawn is peacefully meditating on a tree stump. Opening a single eye, she is surprised by the arrival of Scuba Bear, rearing to attack. A muted roar from offscreen causes the robot to stop in its tracks, allowing B to sneak behind it with a wrench and begin to fiddle with its controls. Once Scuba Bear is shut down, Beardo who is still roaring appears and exchanges a thumbs-up with Dawn and B.)_

I wanna live close to the sun!

 _(The next scene shows Shawn, Eva, Jasmine, Jo and Brick racing each other as they scale up the side of a cliff, Jo stepping on Brick's head as she tries to catch up to Jasmine.)_

Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!

 _(Max is then show hiding behind a tree, waiting for Shawn to reach the top of the cliff before putting on a zombie mask and jumping out, scaring Shawn into letting go of the cliff and falling onto Eva and Jasmine, who in turn fall onto Jo and Brick. All five of them surface from underwater and shoot a glare at Max who merely laughs maniacally in reply.)_

Everything to prove, nothin' in my way;

 _(The camera then pans back to the campground to show Cameron walking in front of the mess hall, his nose deep in a book. He quickly falls to the ground due to Lightning sticking his foot out to trip him._ _)_

I'll get there one day.

 _(_ _Lightning proceeds to laugh at Cameron before he is given a quick jab to the shoulder by an annoyed looking Courtney. Gwen then walks onscreen with her arms crossed, raising her brow at Courtney who smiles at her sheepishly._ _)_

'Cause I wanna be...famous!

 _(_ _The camera then goes into the open mess hall door to show Staci attempting to remove a piece of duct tape plastered to her mouth sitting next to Anne Maria who is attempting to remove a can of hairspray from Staci's sweater. Chef Hatchet is shown walking behind them, nonchalantly whistling as he twirls a roll of tape around his finger._ _)_

Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa

 _(_ _The scene then shifts to Rodney on the beach with a pen and paper in hand before suddenly falling into a pit trap. The camera then pans to Scott and Amy cruelly laughing at him as he tries to climb his way out. A blue hand then appears and taps Scott on the shoulder._ _)_

I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous!

 _(The camera then shows Fang, grinning maliciously at Scott, causing him to scream and jump onto Amy who quickly collapses under his weight.)_

I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous!

 _(The final shot shows Sky and Tyler sitting together before a campfire, the former rubbing her arm while the latter scratches the back of his head. The two smile as they tentatively move closer to one another but then quickly back away from one another when an upset Lindsay and an irate Dave suddenly pop up between them. Both athletes glumly look down in guilt as the shot zooms out to show the rest of the campers sitting around the fire, whistling the final notes of the song while Chris and Chef look on.)_

* * *

Another three days had come and gone and with Chris McLean no longer manipulating the environment, the copious amounts of snow and ice that had been blanketing Boney Island had melted away. And though the campers were able to feel their toes once again, a good number of them still had a bad feeling in the pit of their stomachs.

"Ugh! So gross!"

Though that might have had more to do with what they were forced to eat as opposed to anything else. Not only had Chef Hatchet prepared yet another pot of pasty white gruel, it appeared as though that that morning's batch was even stickier than usual. While this proved to be troublesome for the campers who had to just eat it, it caused those who had to _serve_ it another set of problems entirely.

Tyler was currently standing above the pot with a spoon in hand. Now that everyone else had been served their breakfast, all that was left for the jock to do was fill up the bowls left for Trent, Cody, and himself.

"Man, I was beginning to think that the line would never end," Tyler mused as he scooped up some of the gruel. "Now I know why some many of my uncle's workers always looked so tired all of the time."

Cody, who was standing by the sink and washing the dishes, peered over his shoulder. "What do you mean by that?" he asked curiously.

"Oh I guess I never told you guys," Tyler said as he looked up and out of the pot. "My uncle opened up his own burger place after he retired from playing pro-basketball and I could never understand as a kid how former athletes could get so exhausted just from working with food. Now I know better."

"You never tried to get a job working for your uncle?" Cody asked as Tyler dipped the spoon back into the pot.

"I wanted to," the jock replied as he lifted his arm back up, only to see that the spoon was no longer in his hand. He frowned when he saw that it had gotten stuck within the gruel. He continued to speak as he reached back in for it. "But a lot of my dad's employees had kids who were on the same teams as me, so they knew how...how..."

"...clumsy you are?" Cody finished for him. This elicited a cry of indignation from his friend. "Dude," he said as he continued to pull on the spoon. "I...am... _not_...clumsy!" As soon as the final word left his mouth, the sticky gruel keeping the utensil bound snapped, causing it to fly free from Tyler's grip and soar clear across the room. Cody narrowly managed to open the window and duck down before the spoon shot like a bullet clear across his head.

"Huh, it would appear that mosquitoes are looking more and more metallic these days," Cody deadpanned, turning around to a see a sheepish Tyler. "Seriously man, be careful! Can you imagine how much trouble we'd be in if that window had been broken? Or if the pot went sailing with the spoon? You could've given me a concussion!"

"A concussion?! Who gave you a concussion?! Just hang on Codykins, your Sierra is here!" The voice of Cody's stalker outside of the door caused both boys' eyes to widen and the two of the began to grimace as the sound of nails scratching against the door.

"I realize that it wasn't done for my benefit, but I'm really glad Chef's got more than one lock on that door now," the geek quietly remarked.

Outside of the kitchen, Sierra was now pitifully rapping on the door with both knuckles. "Cody? Cody? Cody! Why aren't you answering me?!" she wailed. She then gasped, bringing her hands to her cheeks. "What if he's passed out?! Hang on my darling! I'm busting that door down!"

Up until this point, all of the campers who had been sitting down to eat were either watching this spectacle in disgust, or in stifled laughter. However when a large figure began to loom over Sierra, everyone soon became fearfully anxious.

"You even think of busting that door down girl, and I'm gonna start busting some skulls, yours being the first!" Sierra's pupils swiftly shrank in terror as she turned to see an unamused Chef standing right behind her with a cleaver in hand. Courtney quickly got up from her seat and grabbed the uber-fan by her ponytail.

"There won't be any need for that sir," the Lions captain said tentatively. "Please allow me to take her away from your kitchen." She then yanked Sierra back over to their team's table away from under Chef's glaring eyes.

Having heard everything from inside the kitchen, Cody and Tyler each let out a breath of relief. "That was scary," the jock observed.

"And I can't believe I actually thought I could tell Sierra about what happened in Toronto by now!" Cody bemoaned, smacking himself upside the head. "It's like she's lost any semblance of sanity she ever had! What am I gonna do?!"

"I dunno man, from what you and Trent told me it doesn't really sound like you did anything wrong," Tyler said scratching the back of his head. "If anything, it seems to me like it was all just a big accident."

"I know that and you know that," Cody said. "But you see, you are a _rational_ person, and it's becoming more and more apparent to me that Sierra has completely _lost_ her ability to rationalize!"

Back out in the dining area, Courtney had dragged Sierra back to the table. "There, now sit down and kindly shut up!" the type A snapped. The obsessive girl did so, but not without returning Courtney's heated stare with one of her own. "This is all _your_ fault, not mine!" she said. "If you hadn't forced me to be on _your_ team, I could've been on _Cody's_!"

"Can you go two minutes without saying something related to him?" Courtney griped before sighing. "Believe it or not Sierra, I'm none too thrilled about this arrangement either but I'm managing. You could at least _try_ to do the same." Sierra responded by turning away with her nose upward, prompting Courtney to roll her eyes.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "Why did I insist on doing Trent that favor? I study law! It's not as if I couldn't have talked him agreeing to something else! Actually, that raises a better question; why did _Chris_ even bother on bringing Sierra back in the first place? She's creeped him out countless times and it's not as though the show needs _her_ for there to be drama!"

* * *

"Manage?" Sierra repeated in disbelief. "How can you expect me to manage when I'm separated from my true love?!"

Courtney rolled her eyes. "I don't know," she replied frustrated. "Why don't you just use Cameron as a substitute for him like you did last time?"

Having heard this, the aforementioned bubble boy spat out his gruel in shock, inadvertently hitting an unsuspecting Brick in the face. Gwen, who had been sitting next to Cameron, immediately stood up and narrowed her eyes at Courtney.

"Nuh-uh, no way," she said. "Don't even _think_ about dumping _your_ problems onto Cameron, Courtney. _You_ picked her for this team, not him. Besides, I thought you could handle anything. You _were_ a CIT after all, right?"

Before Courtney could reply, the goth girl stood up with her tray and left to the far end of the table. Cameron would quickly trail after her a few seconds later, clearly afraid that Sierra would take Courtney's suggestion to heart.

"Oh, great job Martinez," Courtney mumbled to herself as she sat back down with her hand on her forehead. "You say the first thing that pops into your head and wind up with _both_ feet in your mouth."

"Well if nothing else, they probably taste better than what Chef whipped up this morning," a voice piped up, startling Courtney. The Lions captain looked down towards the floor and was surprised to see her fellow captain crawl out from underneath the bench she was sitting on.

"Trent, what are you doing down there?" Courtney asked as the musician stood up and began to stretch.

"Scraping off all of the old, chewed up gum that was stuck to the underside of the table," Trent replied as he picked up a bucket filled to the brim with discarded chewing gum. "I've been at it for hours and your table was the last one I had to do."

"Eww! Chef seriously told you to do that?" Courtney asked as she recoiled in disgust away from the bucket.

"Not quite," Trent shrugged.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Trent - "Before DJ left, he asked me, Cody, and Tyler if we could do him a favor. Since it was right after he made what was literally the best barbeque in the world for us, none of us could really say no. Unfortunately, said favor requires borrowing something from Chef and since that didn't turn out so well last time, we figured that if we did all of the things he _doesn't_ ask us to do, it might yield some better results."

* * *

"But never mind that, mind if I offer you some advice?"

Casting a sorrowful look at where Gwen had been sitting, Courtney shrugged before turning back to him. "Why not? It's not like it could be any worse than what I just said."

"I'd say the best way to start mending fences with Gwen is to just leave her be for a little while," Trent suggested kindly. When he saw Courtney's skeptical look he went on, "I know you want to patch things up as soon as possible, but trust me, try too often or too hard and she'll think that you'll smother her and reject you."

Courtney thought about his words for a moment and soon realized he was right. Not only had _he_ driven Gwen away by constantly vying for her attention, but when Gwen herself had repeatedly tried to apologize to _her_ , it had only made Courtney more annoyed with her.

"That does make a lot of sense," Courtney said as she wistfully gazed up towards the ceiling. "But how can I be certain that doing so will work?"

"Well, that's just it Courtney," Trent replied. "You _can't_ be certain." Courtney groaned as she laid down her head on the table in defeat, causing Trent to chuckle weakly in response. "Try to stay positive," he told her. "After all, if it were _completely_ hopeless, Gwen wouldn't bother talking to you at all, right?"

Though her head was still down, the type A couldn't help but smile a little after hearing that.

"Thank you Trent," she said lifting her head back up a little, only to quickly frown once something caught her eye. "Hey, I thought you said that you'd been scraping gum for hours?"

"Yeah, I have," Trent replied. "Well I mean I fell asleep for a little while but once everyone started filing in, I woke up and got right back to it. Why?"

Courtney pointed to the underside of the table, prompting Trent to crouch down and look at it himself. What looked to be more than a dozen wads of chewed up gum were plastered to the table, many of them still dripping with saliva.

"What the heck?" Trent said in shock. "I swear I cleared it all off! How did-" He was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Looking back up, the musician's expression darkened when he saw Amy giving him a smug, finger wiggling wave, all while blowing a pink bubble in her mouth.

"Dang it," Trent muttered before pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going outside to say bad words."

As he began to walk away, Amy's bubble popped and the evil twin wasted no time in taking the gum out of her mouth and sticking it to the table.

"Oh my," she said, pretending to sound surprised. "Taking an unauthorized break from your work? It's no wonder this place is such a mess! Someone really should report you to dear Mr. Hatchet, I'm positive that he wouldn't appreciate such _laziness_!"

Hearing this caused Trent's shoulders to tense up. Taking a moment to send Amy the stink eye, he continued to walk out of the mess hall, repeatedly counting to nine through gritted teeth.

Haughtily chuckling to herself in victory, Amy turned to the dirt farmer sitting next to her. "Well, Scotty boy, do you still think I can't be nasty to anyone other than Samey?"

Scott grinned as he shook his head in reply. "I gotta admit, that wasn't too shabby. Just no calling me Scotty boy."

Courtney could only glower at her ex-boyfriend and the cheerleader in disgust. "That really was not necessary," she said as she got up with her tray.

"Oh yes it was!" Amy snapped as she slammed her fist down onto the table. "That loser deserves it for making fun of me the other day! In fact, he deserves worse, much worse, for even thinking for a second that Samey could possibly be better than me in any way!"

Courtney shook her head as she walked off, deciding not to dignify Amy's pettiness with a further response.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Courtney - "I'm honestly not sure what to feel for Sammy; sorry that she's had to put up with Amy for so long, or respect that she's been able to for so long. It's like being around a blonde, whinier Heather! With Max gone, I already know who I'm voting for the next time we lose."

Amy - "Scott and I have come to an agreement; he and I will help each other eliminate everyone that we hate and cause them as much trouble as we can on the way. Courtney and Trent are first on the list. Samey can wait once those two are gone. Whether we're on the same team or not, I've still got her right where she's always been and where she always will be, under my thumb.

* * *

Over on the Crooning Crickets' table, while most of them felt sympathetic towards their captain's plight, one person was void of such emotion.

"Seriously, going outside to say bad words?" Jo said in disbelief. "He might as well have a sign that says, 'Pushover,' on his shirt."

Jasmine cast the tomboy a wary look after hearing this. "Is something on your mind there, mate?"

"Just worried about how quickly we'll lose a challenge under Dudley Do-Right's leadership," Jo replied with a scoff.

Shawn, still suffering from the cold he caught back when it was snowing, sniffed as he raised an eyebrow. "Lose?" he repeated. "I know it's been a few days Jo, but you can't have already forgotten that we _won_ the last challenge."

"We got lucky last challenge," Jo replied. "Think about it you guys, if that runty Romeo had gotten matched up with _anyone_ else other than Dr. Evil, _we_ would've been the ones who lost, not the Lions."

"And what's so bad with having a little luck on our side?" Sammy asked. "If anything, I'd be more welcome to more of it."

"I don't wanna have to rely on dumb luck to win a challenge!" Jo snapped, causing Sammy to shrink back. "Just how often do you think someone can have good luck in a game like this one?"

"Actually there are quite a few shades of luck swimming around in everyone's auras," Dawn piped up, only to end up on the receiving end of a glare from Jo.

"I don't wanna hear anything from the girl who ran out in the middle of the challenge without even trying to win," Jo growled scornfully. This caused Dawn to look down in remorse. Sky, who had also heard Jo's remark did the same. Though neither Trent nor most of their teammates had commented on them leaving their respective hockey matches, Jo was adamant in not letting them forget what happened.

"You two should be extremely grateful that Trent's captain and not me," Jo went on. "I still can't believe that sap, one quits because she 'felt' something in the forest, and the other quits because of a stupid _guy_. And yet he lets you both get away with it without so much as a slap on the wrist!"

"Now that's enough," Jasmine said standing up across from Jo and placing both hands on the table. "If you had actually bothered to stick around a bit after stuffing your face that night, you'd know that Sky and Dawn both apologized to everyone, multiple times. What's more, both swore to never do it again so like Trent, I don't see any problem. _You're_ the only one here that keeps trying to pick a fight, so just calm down and rack off, ya bloody knocker!"

Jo stood up and returned the Australian's glare with one of her own. But once she saw that the taller girl wasn't backing down, as well as the fact that Sammy, Shawn and B were standing up alongside her too, she picked up her tray and left the table.

"Whatever," she sneered as her relieved teammates began to sat back down.

"Thank you Jasmine," Dawn said quietly. The amazon simply smiled and gently nudged the moonchild with her elbow. "Don't worry about it mate," she replied. "The rest of us have got your guys' backs."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Jasmine - "I'll admit that I wasn't all too crazy at first about having to take orders from someone else. And I'll also admit that a tiny part of me was worried about being a member of Trent's team. No offense to the guy but I saw TDA. But then again that was also a long time ago so it's only fair to give him a chance to show us what he can do _now_. And besides, it's way too early in the game for anyone to get so worked up. Jo could really stand to kick back a little."

* * *

"Attention ye scurvy swabs!" Chris's pirate-accented voice could be heard over the intercom. "It do be time for some nautical nonsense! Change into your bathing suits and meet me at the beach, pronto! The last one to arrive gets fifty lashes and then must walk the plank!"

"Wonderful, he's doing that lousy pirate bit again," Eva said with a grunt.

"Better hurry," Gwen said. "I highly doubt the last person will get fifty _eyelashes_."

"Aww seriously?" Lindsay asked, her tone clearly disappointed. "Bummer! I like, totally forgot to pack some extra falsies in my makeup bag!"

"I got you covered sweetheart," Anne Maria said taking her friend's hand and leading her out. "Now come on! Annie ain't walkin' no plank today!"

A short while later, both teams were standing at the beach with everyone clad in their swimwear and staring and quite a few unusual things in the water. A short distance away from Boney Island were two ships anchored next to each other, identical in every aspect with the exception of the sails, one having white sails and the other having black. What had the campers most concerned was a large platform that was closer to the island that had two bridges that connected it to the beach. On this platform there were multiple heaps of revolting garbage.

"Ahoy campers!"

The campers' attention was diverted from the small, trash covered island when a speedboat that had a cannon mounted on its stern arrived, Chef behind the wheel and Chris McLean garbed in a pirate costume riding shotgun.

"Arr! Welcome lads and lasses to today's first challenge, which I have titled; 'One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure Island!'" Chris announced, enthusiastically waving his left hand, which was currently covered with a plastic hook.

"Garbage? Are you frontin' me Chris?" Anne Maria asked while covering her nose.

"Nay, dear poppet," Chris chortled. "Tis some of the oldest, foulest smelling garbage in all the world! Or in all of Ontario at least," he added as an afterthought, having briefly dropped the pirate accent. "Which reminds me, who was the last one here?"

Rodney quietly raised his hand. "I was but are you really gonna-" he was cut off within seconds as he was hit with an enormous ball of trash, knocking him flat onto his back. Though several of his teammates showed concern, the odor was far too pungent for anyone to want to try and get close to him.

"This challenge is going to leave me as jolly as a Roger!" Chris exclaimed. "Here's how the game be workin'; one member from each team must cross the bridge leading to the island. Once there, you landlubbers will have to root through the trash and find something that no sailor worth his salt dare voyage without! However rootin' through trash ain't all ye'll be doing, you've got to dodge it as well!"

The campers' attention was directed back toward the cannon, now Chef Hatchet standing proudly behind it, revealing himself to be the one who had fired that shot at Rodney. "Try not to freeze too much when you're out there," he said with a smirk. "I got plenty of those, 'deer in the headlights,' looks back during the first challenge. Make it a little more fun for me this time, you bunch of bilge rats!"

"And Mr. Hatchet won't be the only one you kiddies will be needing to worry about this challenge," Chris warned as another speedboat pulled up, this one carrying a former contestant many were familiar with.

"Sam?" Cameron asked in surprise. "Hehehe, hi there guys!" the nice-guy gamer greeted cheerfully as he waved to the campers. "It's great to see so many of you again!"

"The feeling isn't mutual," Scott said with a sneer before turning to Chris. "Why would bring back the couch potato? It's not as if he could _actually_ pose a threat to us."

"Sam, kindly demonstrate why I selected you to cameo this episode," Chris told the nice-guy gamer, who had already aimed the cannon straight at his former teammate and fired. All of the other Loquacious Lions moved away from Scott as a ball of trash collided with him, knocking him down just as it had with Rodney.

"Hehehe, that's why," Sam explained as he stepped back out from behind the cannon. "I've been playing shoot 'em ups ever since I got my first Super Scope as a kid. I'd say sorry about that Scott but, you've always been kind of a jerk to me. To everyone else though," he turned to the other campers with an apologetic smile. "Sorry in advance. Chris said if I didn't do the shooting, he'd fire _me_ out of the cannon instead."

"You've nothing to apologize for Sam," Dawn said. "If anyone should feel bad, it's the person who's knowingly putting so many lives at risk by having all of this waste out here!" She turned to glare at the host, who didn't seem to pay her much heed. "Chris, do you have any idea how much marine life will _die_ if even a little of this trash falls into the ocean?"

"No, no I don't," Chris said unflinchingly. "And I'm sure it won't come as much as a surprise that I don't really care either. Now belay any further questions! It's time to get on with the challenge!" However something had apparently caught his eye, having caused him to lift the eyepatch so that he could see it clearly.

"Actually scratch that," he said, once again having dropped his accent. "For once, _I've_ got a question; Trent, dude, _what_ are you wearing?"

In addition to his usual red swimming trunks, the Crooning Crickets captain was clad in a pink Hawaiian shirt, patterned with several flowers that were an even brighter shade of pink.

"It was a present for my birthday, what of it?" Trent replied somewhat defensively.

"Dude, _I_ think making anyone wear a shirt like that is an act of cruelty," Chris said shaking his head. "And I was in prison for a year." Trent could only palm his forehead in response.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Scott - "So we've gotta dig through trash while avoiding any and all additional trash being tossed at us? Please! That's how I get my Christmas shopping done every year! This challenge is gonna be a cinch for me!"

Trent - _*Tugs at his shirt and sighs.* "_ My brother-in-law bought this for me while he and my sister were honeymooning in Hawaii. It really isn't something that I would've picked out but he's a really cool dude so I figured I should wear it every now and then. That, and I'm terrified of what my sister would do to me if I ever tried to get rid of it."

* * *

"Okay, that hideous monstrosity aside, the Crooning Crickets won last challenge so they'll be getting a minute head start."

The Crickets quickly broke out into a cheer while the Lions could only groan in reply.

"Please hold all reactions until the end of my explanation," Chris sternly said snapping his fingers. Once everyone had quieted down, his grin returned. "Thank you. Now every member of each team will only be allowed a limited time to search through the trash for what is missing from the boats. Once they get the signal, they've gotta cross the bridge back to the beach and let one of their teammates make the attempt. And I should also mention that a camper _cannot_ make a second try to search until after _all_ of their teammates have done the challenge at least _once_."

"So just what is the signal that let's us know when our time's up?" Cody asked with his hand raised.

Chris began to impishly chuckle. "Now come on guys, you _know_ I wouldn't want to spoil the _surprise_ for you, don't you?" he asked in turn.

"Great, he just said the _S_ word," Gwen muttered. "You think you could at least tell us what it is we're looking for?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure I already did Gwen," Chris replied raising his brow. "Have you not been paying attention?" When many of the campers appeared perplexed, he rolled his eyes. "Something no sailor worth his salt dare voyage without, what part of that did you not get?"

"Oh I don't know, perhaps all of it?" Courtney shot back snappishly. "Seriously, what's the point of there being a riddle? This challenge already sounds difficult enough as it is!"

"Hey, this is the kinda stuff you kids will have to endure if you want that prize money," Chris shrugged. "Which, I might add, is _more_ than just a million dollars this time around." The sounds of nearly of all the campers gasping in shock brought a smug smile to the host's face.

"We're fighting for even _more_ money this time?" Amy gaped before shaking her head. "Just how much are we talking about?"

"Oh it's a _generous_ increase, I assure you all," Chris said as he sat back down in the speedboat. "We, and by that I mean the network, figured that one million just wasn't enough for you to be risking your lives in challenges that will be _much_ more dangerous so the amount's gone up a ways. I meant to tell you all last episode, but I kept forgetting what with Max not learning when to shut up."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Amy - "Okay, now things are _really_ interesting.

* * *

"Crooning Crickets, you've got thirty seconds to decide who among you will be going first in the challenge," Chris said. "Loquacious Lions, that gives you about ninety seconds to discuss ways not to epically _fail_. Begin!"

"Okay everyone," Trent said as his team formed a huddle (with the exception of Rodney, who now smelled horrible thanks to the garbage). "Before we do anything else, we should probably try to figure out what it is we're looking for. Any ideas?"

"He said it was something a sailor wouldn't sail without," Jasmine replied. She peered up above her teammates' heads and squinted while looking at the ships. "But as far as I can see, both boats look completely seaworthy. That is unless the rudders are missing or something."

"Nah, that doesn't really sound right," Tyler piped up. "From the _way_ Chris said it, it may be something more _symbolic_ , y'know?"

"Then maybe a bottle of liquor to break against the ship to prevent bad luck?" Trent suggested.

"Alcohol on a show that little kids are known to watch?" Sammy asked. "Chris already has the lawyers breathing down his neck, wouldn't something like that only get him in more trouble?"

"Call me crazy but, I don't think Chris is all _that_ concerned about what's 'age-appropriate' for us," Jo countered while making air quotes.

Cody was rubbing his chin in thought when he noticed that B had gotten to his knees and had begun to draw a picture in the sand. "Hold on you guys, I think B may know what it is."

The silent genius nodded at the geek's words as he stood up and allowed the others to look at his drawing.

"A rectangle?" Sammy asked in confusion. Her eyes then widened in realization as she gasped. "Wait a minute you guys, I think I know what he means!"

"Yah, my great-great-great-great Uncle Broderick invented rectangles," Staci obnoxiously spoke up. "Before him everyone had to use two squares for everything rectangles are used for now, so squares were in like, _really_ short supply." A collective groan soon filled the air in response to the chatterbox's lie.

"What?" she asked as many of her teammates shook their heads at her. " _What_?"

"Care to share with the rest of the class then Princess?" Jo asked as she strode over to the cheerleader. "Or rather you can just tell me, since I'll be the only one who needs to know."

"And just what makes you so sure of that mate?" Jasmine asked with her brows furrowing at the tomboy's remark.

"Obviously _I'll_ be going first," Jo replied with her arms crossed. "As long as I know what to look for, I'll have this won before the Lions even get a chance."

"Well, someone seems awfully sure of herself now, doesn't she?" Jasmine said now glaring down at Jo.

"I have to be, since truth be told, I am really, really not sure of any of you, no offense," Jo replied, eliciting several either hurt or angry looks from her fellow Crickets.

"Seriously? Now how was that not offensive?" Jasmine asked in disbelief. "Y'know for someone who's always ragging on Lightning for how big _his_ ego is, you don't seem all that humble today yourself!"

Jo immediately glowered up at the survivalist. "You _did_ not just compare _me_ to that gender-confusing, third-person talking, idiotic egomaniac!"

"I believe she just did," Cody said. "And honestly, she isn't wrong. For the past few days, you've either been talking about how _you're_ going to win, or criticizing the rest of _us_! It's only the second challenge and you've pretty much written us all off as incompetent! In what way is that fair?"

"Attention Crickets!" Chris's voice interrupted the argument. "Your thirty seconds is officially up! Someone needs to get out there now!"

"That's enough! We don't have time for all of this!" Trent said coming in between Jo and Jasmine. "B, you know what it is we need to find, you head out there first!"

The silent genius nodded with a thumbs up in reply before running out on the Crickets' bridge.

"Good luck out there B!" Dawn called out to her friend as some of the others began to voice their encouragement to him as well.

As soon as B had stepped off the beach, Chef and Sam had wasted no time in firing their trash cannonballs at him. Luckily, B had seen them coming and was soon ducking, jumping and flipping his way to the island.

"Wow, for such a big guy, B's pretty light on his feet," Sky observed in amazement as she and the rest of the Crickets watched from the beach. "So Sammy," she turned to the cheerleader. "What is it that we're supposed to be looking for?"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Sammy - "In hindsight, it was fairly obvious. But in our defense, the boats _were_ miles away, it would've been easy to miss a lot of things.

* * *

"A flag?" Courtney asked as the scene switched over to where the Loquacious Lions had gathered.

"Affirmative," Brick nodded. "Whether it was for the noble men of the navy or for dastardly pirates, no ship would be complete without a proper flag. It's a matter of pride."

"Lightning totally gets that," Lightning said. "It'd just be like if he went out onto the field without his lucky jockstrap. Never washed it, never lost a game."

This elicited several sounds of disgust from the football player's female teammates, the captain of the Lions included.

"Way too much information there," Courtney said with a cringe. "Okay then, as for who goes first...Eva, how about it?"

The bodybuilder merely shrugged. "Whatever," she said.

"Hold up there," Scott said. "What if _I_ want to go first?"

"I figured you wouldn't want to be a part of this challenge," Courtney replied.

The dirt farmer raised a brow in suspicion. "And just why is that?" he asked his ex. Courtney merely jerked her thumb towards the water where a shark's fin could be seen not too far away from the bridges. Scott's jaw dropped as his least favorite shark surfaced and sent a ferocious grin in his direction.

"I'm out!" Scott yelled as he ran farther away from the water, pushing many of his teammates out of the way as he did so, one of them being his alliance partner.

"Ugh! Man up you wimp!" Amy shouted to him as she picked herself up from the sand and began to chase after him. "It's just an overgrown sardine!"

"Something tells me Amy didn't bother to watch Revenge of the Island or All-Stars," Gwen flatly observed.

"Well, it was rather considerate of Courtney to take Scott's feelings regarding Fang into account," Cameron said.

"Please, it was probably just strategy on her part," the goth girl replied with a glare in Courtney's direction. "She just didn't want anyone to be slowed down trying to force him into it. I bet she could care less."

"You're...still really angry with her, aren't you?" Cameron asked hesitantly.

"Don't I have a right to be?" Gwen responded turning back to him. "You saw everything I tried to do for her, how long she refused to acknowledge me and _then_ when she planned to have me kicked out right before the finale. I was a fool for thinking Courtney and I could ever be friends. She can try and act nice all she wants but I know, at the end of the day, all she really cares about is herself."

"But what if-" the bubble boy attempted to say before seeing the fierce look in Gwen's eyes. "...never mind."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cameron - "Truthfully, I don't really care all that much about the money. After all, I still have more than enough after winning the first time I was on the show. The main reason I wanted to come back was to try and help patch things up between Courtney and Gwen. Courtney might not be the _nicest_ person I've met but Gwen seemed to really value their friendship and I think Courtney truly did too. But given Gwen's resolution on keeping connections severed, it might be more of a conundrum than I thought."

* * *

"Three, two, one, aaaaand that's a full minute!" Chris had counted off while looking at his watch. "Lions, you may now send out what will surely be your first casualty!"

"It's about time!" Eva said dashing onto the Lions' bridge.

"Whoo-hoo! Good luck out there Erica!" Lindsay cheered. Eva stopped dead in her tracks and turned back towards the blonde.

"That's not my name Malibu Barbie!" she shouted back, before nearly getting hit with a trash cannonball. "Hey! You better pray that you don't hit me Game Boy! I promise you the results won't be pretty if you do!" From behind his cannon, Sam swallowed a lump in his throat.

Chef however, did not share the gamer's fear and took advantage of the chance to fire a shot at Eva while she was still standing still.

Unfortunately for him, Eva had seen him fire and was ready. Planting her feet firmly on the bridge, she caught the ball and was only sent back about an inch or so. With a determined grin she tossed the ball back at breakneck speed, resulting in the cook and the host both getting splattered with garbage.

"My hair! My face! My costume!" Chris cried out in disgust. "Why?! Why would you do such a thing to me?!"

"Why would I _not_?" Eva countered, satisfied with her deed. "Tell me, was _that_ enough of a challenge for ya, Chef _Ratchet_?"

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Lindsay - "Okay, I have _got_ to start remembering _her_ name if nothing else. Can you imagine how bad it would look if she had thrown that icky garbage at _me_?"

Chef Hatchet - "Oh, that girl is _good_."

Sam - "Hehehe, never in my life have I been so happy to have actually _missed_ a target. I'm not even really upset since it wasn't a video game, it doesn't count! _*Pulls out a handheld system and begins to play.*_ Wait, are cameos even _allowed_ to use the confessional?"

* * *

Once Eva had set foot onto the garbage island, she soon saw B digging through a mound of trash, the silent genius wearing a frustrated frown.

"Not having much luck there, huh big man?" she asked. "Well that's good news. For me, not so much for you."

Rather than reply, B went back to searching through the trash, prompting Eva to begin looking as well.

A few minutes had gone by, and B's search was not proving to be fruitful. After having tossed an empty tin can, a desk lamp that was broken in half, and Mr. Coconut over his shoulder, B had decided that the pile did not have the flag and was about to go through another one nearby when a roar suddenly filled the air.

The silent genius nervously turned around and was quickly greeted by a large brown bear emerging from the trash, one that was wearing green goggles and a green oxygen tank on its back.

"SCUBA BEAR!" Jasmine, Shawn, Sky and Sammy collectively cried out in fear.

"You are all correct!" Chris announced, having brushed the garbage off of himself. "Scuba Bear 4.0 to be precise! Now that he's up and about, B's time on the island is officially up and he must vacate the island if he still wants to live!"

"Run for it B, that thing's really a robot! It's dangerous!" Sky called out.

"Too true," Chris grinned. "He's _deadlier_ than the average bear!"

B immediately stopped and turned back around to look at Scuba Bear, now knowing of his true nature, he appeared intrigued by it. Scuba Bear continued to roar but quickly stopped once he saw that B was now examining him, rapping on his furry elbow with his knuckles causing a muffled clanging sound to ring out.

"Oi! Did you not hear Sky when she said that thing was dangerous?!" Jasmine barked out. "This is not the time to study it ya gumby, get out of there!"

B's eyes widened in realization as he peered up to see that Scuba Bear's eyes were now glowing an ominous shade of red. The silent genius quickly ran away from it as it bellowed out another roar before lifting up its goggles and firing beams from its eyes at the Crickets' bridge, burning a hole in it.

"Lasers?!" Shawn cried out. "That thing's got _lasers_ now?"

"Among some other new tricks up its sleeve, yes," Chris replied. "This season was in such high demand that we got a _way_ bigger budget to work with. Although my new contract prevents me from using it on myself, I _am_ allowed to use it on anything that can be used to hurt all of you so it all works out."

"Not for us it doesn't!" Gwen complained.

"Whoa, as cool as that bear is, I'm kinda glad I'm not competing this season," Sam commented from behind his cannon.

"That can easily be changed if you don't start doing your job Sam," Chris warned the gamer from the other boat. "B's heading back to the beach, why are you not shooting your cannon?"

Sam sighed heavily before taking aim at his former teammate. "Sorry about this buddy," he said sincerely before firing. Three balls of trash were now heading B's way. Though he was able to sidestep away from the first and duck the second, the third one hit and knocked him into the water.

Over by the Lions' bridge, Fang took notice of the new presence in the water. Never one to shy away from a meal, the mutant dived down under the water and began to swim over to where B was treading water.

B gulped as he saw Fang's fin drawing closer and closer to him. Digging through the various pieces of trash that had hit him, he soon came across a fire extinguisher. It was then that Fang had resurfaced with his mouth opened. Pointing the hose at the mutant's maw, B began to spray which propelled him away from Fang and back to the beach.

At that moment, Scuba Bear's eyes had changed from red back to black before closing as the robot sat down, now motionless.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cody - "Who throws away an extinguisher that still has _that_ much fluid in it?"

B - _*Still holding the fire extinguisher, shakes the hose in front of his face and inadvertently sprays himself in the face with foam.*_

* * *

"Crooning Crickets, with B back and Scuba Bear shut down for the moment, you may now send another player out to the island!" Chris announced.

"My friend, thank goodness that you're alright!" Dawn exclaimed as B tiredly trudged up the beach before promptly falling on his face.

"Alright but empty handed," Jo said with a scowl. "Guess it's time for me to show you maggots how it's done!" With that, the tomboy had ran off onto the bridge eliciting several sour looks from her teammates, Jasmine in particular.

"What's with that girl?" she wondered aloud. "I know she doesn't have the _greatest_ of reputations, but I didn't expect her to be _this_ bad."

"It's fear," Dawn explained as she helped B stand back up. "A fear of failure specifically, one that's present in several auras here. She may not be consciously aware of it, but she's terrified of losing Total Drama a third time. It's why she's been so boastful lately, to keep her self-confidence intact."

"I...guess that makes sense, but that still doesn't excuse her being so horrible to the rest of us," Jasmine said with narrowed eyes facing the bridge. "We all want to win too but everyone else on this team is able to be civil."

Back on the trash island, Eva was growing angrier by the second as not a single piece of debris she had dug up even looked remotely like a flag. When she pulled out a harp that had several missing or broken strings she furiously threw it behind her causing its frame to break apart.

"That's the fifth junked instrument I've found!" she yelled, pulling at her hair. "Where the freakin' heck is this stupid flag already?!"

"At least she's mad over dere and not over here, am I right?" Anne Maria whispered to Lindsay and Brick, both of whom nodded silently after hearing Eva shout.

Her tirade quickly ceased when a roar much more vicious than her own was heard. "What?" She turned around to see a second Scuba Bear standing right behind her, the only difference between it and the one that had been chasing B was the color of scuba gear, the new one's being red as opposed to green.

"Wait, there are _two_ of those crazy things over there?" Amy asked in disbelief.

"Naturally, in order to keep things fair," Chris replied impishly. "Loquacious Lions, meet Scuba Bear 5.0, your signal that Eva must return back to Boney Island lest she be obliterated!"

Eva rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Please, I've handled way tougher things than this science fair reject." She quickly threw a punch to the robot's midsection, only for it to stand still as if nothing had touched it. The bodybuilder's eyes widened as she drew her hand back and cried out in pain. "Oww! God! What is this thing _made_ of?!"

"Huh, guess we know now much the new metal can take," Chris observed with an impressed tone.

"I told you it was worth springing for," Chef told his boss. "Now we don't gotta rebuild them things every other episode!"

"Eh, it was _kinda_ funny while it lasted," Chris replied. "But I suppose this season _should_ have a running gag that's unique to it."

Still cradling her injured hand, Eva gave the robotic bear a heated look. "Don't think that this is over teddy!" she snarled before turning to head back to the Lions' bridge. "I promise you that it's not! Not by a long shot!"

Several of the Loquacious Lions responded to the sight of Eva running away with varying expressions of fear and panic.

"That thing _hurt_ Eva," a wide-eyed Courtney muttered in shock. " _Eva_..."

"Girl, what are you so sha-scared about?" Lightning asked his captain. "So what if _she_ can't handle it? Lightning bets he can take it down, no sha-problem!"

"Oh, give your ego a rest already!" Courtney told the jock, annoyed. "If _Eva_ can't hurt it, then none of us have any chance at all!"

"Sha-what?" Lightning replied, offended. "You think that unibrow girl is stronger than the Lightning?"

"She's right you know," Sierra spoke up. "Eva's regular workout routine involves approximately twice as many push-ups, three times as many laps around a track and lifting weights twenty pounds heavier than yours."

The football player could only blink in confusion.

"She exercises way more than you do!" Courtney said after rolling her eyes. "Ergo, she's stronger than you are!"

Lightning crossed his arms and scoffed. "Hmmph! Lightning don't care if her name's Eva or Ergo or whatever, ain't nobody stronger than me!"

"Well, your chance to prove it is coming up," Sierra noted. Sure enough, Eva was soon back on the beach and apart from her hand, didn't look any worse for wear.

"Are you alright?" Courtney asked the surly bodybuilder. Taking in a deep breath, Eva nodded before turning back to face the trash island.

"I'll admit I got licked today," she said quietly. "But just give me some time. I'll have that glorified toaster beaten into a scrap heap before I leave this place."

"Not unless _I_ do the beating first," Lightning boasted confidently. "Which is exactly what I'll do _and_ find the flag, cuz it's _my_ turn!"

But just as he was about to step off of the beach, Lightning was pulled back by the arm by Amy. "Hold on a second there, handsome," the evil twin said. "I've got a _better_ idea."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Amy - "Since my alliance partner had been nothing but a quivering little wuss ever since that stupid shark showed up, it was all up to _me_ to figure out how to stir up some trouble to make Courtney look bad. And luckily, I remembered that a certain _someone_ is on this team that Lightning doesn't like."

* * *

"Listen Lightning, I _know_ you could win this challenge without even trying," Amy whispered the uber-jock. "But why not have a little fun first watching someone try and fail at it? Someone like _Cameron_ maybe?"

"Girl, Lightning likes the way you think!" Lightning replied with a wicked grin. Striding over to the unsuspecting bubble boy, Lightning lifted him up into the air by his trunks, startling him.

"Lightning? Wh-wh-what are you doing?" Cameron stammered. "I-I thought you were going to take your turn in the challenge!"

"Lightning will eventually bubble nerd," the uber-jock replied. "But since you _love_ robots so much, Lightning figured you oughta have a look at it sha-first!"

In one swift motion, Lightning had effortlessly thrown Cameron into the water. The bubble boy was lucky though, in that Fang was still too busy spitting up extinguisher foam to notice him so he quickly climbed onto the bridge.

"Better get running Cameron!" Lightning tauntingly called out to the smaller boy. "Unless you _wanna_ be fish food!" He and Amy both proceeded to laugh, but the cheerleader quickly stopped when she noticed someone coming up to them. A pale finger tapped Lightning on the shoulder and as soon as he turned around, he was met with a kick to the groin.

"Huh, bet he wishes he had his lucky gitch _now_ ," Dave dryly remarked without so much as a hint of sympathy.

"Gah! What is the matter with you?" Lightning cried out in a high-pitched voice, on his knees with his hands covering his crotch.

"What is the matter with _me?_ Try what's the matter with _you_!" Gwen said fiercely, causing Lightning to flinch under her glare. "What you just did was _completely_ uncalled for!"

"It was not!" Lightning argued with his voice having returned to normal. "That little twerp stole my victory from me! Twice! _And_ caused my Pops to lose his championship rings!"

"Yeah, no on both accounts. Cam won fair and square and your dad losing his rings was his own stupid fault," Gwen shot back. "You need to get over yourself and leave the poor kid alone!"

For all of his bravado, Lightning could only nervously gulp and nod in reply. "Although come to think of it," the goth girl said turning around. "It wouldn't have happened in the first place if _Courtney_ had..." her words soon faded when she saw that Courtney had firmly grabbed Amy by the ear, her expression clearly mad.

"You little brat!" the type A fiercely snarled. "Lightning was raring to go and for all we know, had probably forgotten that Cameron was even here! If you hadn't goaded him, not only would he not have thrown Cameron into the sea, he might have even found the flag for us!"

Though in pain from having her ear pulled, Amy nevertheless gave Courtney a defiant glare. "Yeah? So what are you gonna do about it, Miss-Constantly-Screaming?"

" _I_ won't be doing anything," Courtney replied, letting go of the evil twin's ear. "If Cameron isn't able to find the flag, then _you're_ going to be the next one going out there!"

"Wait, what?" Amy asked, taken aback.

"Anyone have any problems with that?" Courtney asked the other Loquacious Lions.

Brick nervously saluted with a, "Ma'am, no ma'am!" Scott continued to whimper in the fetal position while still making frantic glances at Fang. Everyone else simply shook their heads without a word.

Courtney nodded before walking up to Lightning and giving him a disapproving look. "Guess I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on _you_ ," she said before looking up at Gwen. "Sorry about that. I didn't think I'd be having to play babysitter this season but clearly I should've known better."

"Uh...yeah," Gwen replied. Before she could say anything else, Courtney lifted Lightning up by the ear and pulled him away and made sure to grab Amy's ear once more as she did so, leaving the goth still stunned.

Having seen this entire spectacle, Cameron decided to not waste any more time and was on his way to the trash island. Accordingly, Chef Hatchet had decided not to waste any time and was firing blast after blast of garbage at him. However because of his diminutive stature, Cameron only had to crouch down to avoid being hit each time.

"Doggone it, is that kid hard to hit!" Chef grumbled after his third shot had sailed over Cameron's head.

"Or maybe you just _suck_ at this," Chris snidely remarked, eliciting a glare from his assistant.

"Oh really? Well I'd like to see you try and do better, pretty boy!" Chef challenged stepping away from the cannon and gesturing for the host to take his place.

"Gladly," Chris said, getting behind the cannon. "And I can already tell you what you were doing wrong." He began to lower the muzzle of the cannon, not appearing to realize it was now pointing directly at the floor of their boat. "All you gotta do is readjust the angle and..."

"Uh, Chris," Chef interrupted suddenly adopting a nervous look. "I'm pretty sure you've got that set too lo-"

"Shush! You know I don't like people talking over me," Chris cut him off. "People who do that, do not get _paid_. Now be quiet and let me have my fun!"

Exasperated, Chef rolled his eyes as Chris fired the cannon. The round went straight through their boat, causing the vessel to quickly take on water.

"Uhhh...what is it that you wanted to say Chef?" Chris said slowly before he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt by Chef.

"How many times do I gotta tell you?" Chef asked as he began to paddle himself and the host to shore. "You need to get yourself some glasses!"

"I do not!" Chris protested with an indignant glare. "My eyes are far too beautiful to be hidden from the world by something worn only by old people and nerds!"

With one of the cannons now at the bottom of the lake, Cameron was able to reach the island rather easily and had soon come upon Jo, who was wildly tossing away various pieces of debris, looking none too happy all the while.

"Could it be that you haven't found either one of the two flags Jo?" Cameron asked the jock-ette, before having to jump back when a bent candelabra was thrown at him. "I'll...take that as a no, then?"

"Yeah, and you can take _this_ as a no too, Walking Stick!" Jo growled as she chucked a clock with a cracked face at the bubble boy, successfully beaning him on the forehead.

"Ow! Walking stick?" Cameron said as he rubbed the spot where a bump was already beginning to swell up. "Oh, you mean the insects that belong to the _Phasmatodea_ order! I've actually raised one myself, a _Carausius morosus_ that I named Jenny and..." his ramblings were interrupted when an old pair of tennis shoes tied up by the laces flew by his shoulder. "...and you really don't care, do you?"

"Not at all," Jo replied as she threw a rotary telephone over her shoulder. "But please, go ahead and keep on with your babbling Poindexter. The more time _you_ spend there answering a question that nobody asked, the more time _I_ have to find my team's flag."

Cameron promptly stopped talking and dived into the pile of trash that was nearest to him.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cameron - "If you thought that was bad, you should've been there on the first day of my first college-level entomology course. The lecture was over the various beetles that belong to the _Scarabaeidae_ family. I got so excited that I ended up talking more than the professor did.

* * *

"Crud. Crud. Still more crud. And yet even more crud. Crud!"

Jo was continuing on with her search, but a lack of success combined with the horrible odor emanating from the mountain of garbage, only caused her to grow angrier and angrier.

"Aw to heck with this!" she exclaimed. "I'm never gonna find the flag before that stupid bear wakes up!" She jumped down from her perch and scanned the area. She saw rotting produce, broken electronics, a pile of dead fish, but nothing resembling a flag, be it pirate or navy. Livid, the jock-ette gave a kick to the nearest pile of trash, only to grab her foot and recoil in pain seconds later.

"Gah! The heck did I just kick?" she groaned. Scraping pieces of waste aside, the tomboy's eyes widened when she realized that she had actually attacked one of the Scuba Bears. She nervously stepped back a couple paces, but then quickly relaxed when she realized that the robot wasn't attacking her.

"Red mask and tank," she noted, observing the bear's diving equipment. "That would make you the Lions' Scuba Bear which means even if you _were_ on, I wouldn't have anything to worry about." She then noticed that the bear's oxygen tank was slightly askew, revealing what looked to be something shining from behind it.

"Interesting," Jo mused with a brow raised. Gripping the tank with both hands, the tomboy tugged at it before prying it free from the bear's back, uncovering an entire control panel that had a small digital clock that was counting down, the time currently being three minutes and thirty seconds.

"Poindexter's got more than three minutes before you wake up?" Jo rhetorically asked before peeking out from the mountain of refuse that was in front of the robot and herself. She could see Cameron pulling out an umbrella and opening it up over his head. To the bubble boy's dismay, inside the umbrella was not a flag, but instead several newspapers that had yellowed with age.

"Crap! As much as I hate to admit it, the little know-it-all probably _could_ find the flag he needs in that time," Jo said with a scowl. "And what's worse, I've got less time to look before that other bear comes to and starts coming after me!" She turned back to the Lions' Scuba Bear and rubbed her chin in thought. A sinister grin quickly broke out across her face as an idea came to mind.

"Who says that the Crickets' Bear has to be the first one to wake up?" she said before beginning to press buttons on the robot's control panel, changing the time to thirty seconds, giving her just enough time to stick the bear's scuba tank to its back before darting off and away from it.

"Aw, darn it," Cameron said as his head poked out of the pile of old newspapers. "I was thinking that Chris might've had the flag hidden away in a bigger piece of this stuff, but I guess an umbrella wasn't the best place to start looking."

He began to toss the papers aside when a great shadow began to loom over him. Cameron's pupils shrank as he timidly turned around to see his team's Scuba Bear, eyes red and angry, standing behind him.

"Um...hi," Cameron hesitantly waved to the beast, who bellowed out a fierce roar in return, prompting the bubble boy to jump up and flee as fast as he could. "Bye!" he yelled without turning around. Unfortunately, the robotic bear was quick to give chase, not allowing Cameron to create a sizeable distance between them.

Having seen this, Jo couldn't help but begin to cackle, clearly pleased with her sabotage. However as she laughed, she ended up backing into something that was quite large, and rather furry.

Jo was dismayed when she peered over her shoulder to see an active and cross looking Scuba Bear standing behind her. As it had when B's time on the island was up, the robot lifted its goggles, preparing to fire its lasers.

"Dang it!" Jo shouted, ducking down to avoid the beams. As the Crickets' Scuba Bear let out a roar, the tomboy took advantage of the opportunity to escape, knocking down all the trash in her reach along the way in the hopes of slowing the robot down.

"And Jo has managed to avoid her Scuba Bear and make it back to the bridge!" Chris announced from the beach, he and Chef both still dripping wet. "Cameron on the other hand, still seems to having trouble getting away from his," he observed.

The host was right in that Cameron may have managed to avoid being caught by Scuba Bear, he was unfortunately being chased further and further towards the center of the island, his pursuer apparently determined to not allow him to get away.

"Weird, I could've sworn that Jo's bear was supposed to activate first," Chris said.

"It should have, if Jo had been playing fair," Brick muttered with his arms crossed and a glare cast towards the island.

"What? You tink Blondie just tried ta sabretooth da kid?" Anne Maria asked the cadet with a raised brow.

"Sabotage," Brick corrected. "And no, I don't think, I know. Unfortunately."

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Brick - "I must say that I am extremely disappointed. Jo's exceptional physical prowess really made me admire her when we first met. But the more I saw of the cruel lengths she's so willing to immediately go to just to win, it made me want to forget about any attempts at friendship and just take her down."

* * *

"In any case, the bear will shut down once Cameron manages to escape," Chris shrugged, apparently not having heard what Brick said (or more likely not having cared). "That is, _if_ he manages to escape. Heh heh heh!"

Gwen shot a furious glare in Lightning's direction. "Forget football," she said, her voice ominously quiet. "Forget any sport. If anything happens to Cameron, you're going to be lucky to be able to play _tiddlywinks_ when I get through with you!"

"What are you getting so sha-dang worked up about girl?" Lightning asked. "What, is the Smart Guy your new boyfriend or something?"

"No, you sha-moron!" Gwen began to shout. "We're just friends! Really good friends because unlike _you_ , _he_ doesn't give me a _colossal_ headache!" She then cast an angry look over to the other side of the beach where Jo had just returned to her team and clenched her fists. "But make no mistake, you won't be the _only_ jock that's gonna pay if Cameron gets hurt."

On where the Crooning Crickets were grouped, Jo still wore a somewhat sour expression as she brushed various pieces of trash off of her person. "I can't believe this," she complained. What kind of self-respecting athlete lets herself get grazed by a doughy gamer nerd?"

"How about the kind that's becoming more and more of a hypocrite as the day goes on?" Jasmine spoke up as she walked up to the jock-ette with her arms crossed. She walked over to Jo, and wound up on the receiving end of a glare from the tomboy, eliciting several nervous looks from the rest of their team.

"You really are a piece of work, y'know that?" the Australian said. "You give poor B guff for not finding the flag and yet don't seem all that worried when you yourself show up empty-handed."

"Probably because unlike Silent Treatment, _I_ actually did something to slow the other team down," was Jo's reply, which was met with a scoff from Jasmine.

"Oh yeah, real commendable that was," she said as she rolled her eyes. "Sending a killer robot after the smallest kid here, _who_ if I remember right, gave _you_ a share of the million prize he won!"

"As if it's anything he can't handle," Jo said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "The pipe cleaner's lived through worse! And besides, I've heard you and the others talk about last season in the cabin so don't expect me to believe that you've never sabotaged an enemy before!"

Jasmine looked down shamefully at this remark. "I'll admit that you've got me there," she said quietly. "I let my anger get the better of me, decided to play ruthlessly and insist that my teammates do the same. If Shawn hadn't refused to give up on me..." She shook her head and resumed glowering at Jo. "Well at the very least, I don't take pride in doing something that could get someone seriously hurt!"

"Oh spare me!" Jo shot back. "I can't believe that I need to remind you that this is a _competition_! You really think if _you_ pull your punches, everyone else will too? Forget it! I'm going all the way to the top this time and I don't care who I gotta step on to get there, whether it's Cameron or _you_ , Blunder from Down Under!"

Looking down to where the brim of her hat covered her eyes, Jasmine slowly walked over to Jo, both her hands now tightly clenched into fists. Upon reaching the tomboy she looked back up, her expression grimly fierce. By now, Jo's swagger was finally starting ebb away, and was replaced with intimidation of the amazon.

"I have had it!" Jasmine declared with a fist raised.

"Jasmine, no!" Sammy pleaded.

"She isn't worth it!" Shawn tried to call out.

However their words fell on deaf ears. Jo closed her eyes and raised her hands in defense as Jasmine's fist drew closer.

" _Jasmine stop_!"

At the sound of a new voice crying out Jasmine froze, her fist less than an inch from hitting someone's face. However that someone was not Jo, but Trent, who was now standing between the two girls with his arms spread out and his eyes having been reflexively shut as he saw Jasmine's oncoming attack.

All of the Crooning Crickets were frozen in both fear and anticipation of what would happen next and by this point, most of the Loquacious Lions were gazing at the three as well. Trent tentatively opened one of his eyes to see that his tallest teammate had lowered her fist, now looking shocked at what she had almost done.

"The both of you just need to stop," the musician said, trying to keep his voice steady. "The more you fight, the more time we lose and that means that the Lions _will_ win. Jo, if you can't find it in yourself to not insult someone, kindly _shut up._ "

"What?!" Jo cried in indignation. "You seriously have the nerve to-" the tomboy was cut off when Trent turned around to face her with a vexed scowl.

" _Shut up_ ," he repeated before turning back to Jasmine. "You and I need to talk for a minute," he said to the Australian before taking her by the wrist and taking her away from the jock-ette.

Once they were at a distance that Trent deemed to be far enough away, he let go of Jasmine and looked up at her. Before he could even open his mouth, she had already begun to speak.

"I am so, _so_ sorry about that Trent," she apologized, looking down at the sand while rubbing her left arm. "I didn't mean to lose it like that, I swear! She just started bringing up all these things from the past, things that I'm not proud of. And when she called me that name well, I guess I had just had it. I mean, has she ever called _anyone_ by their actual name?"

Trent held up her hands which Jasmine took as a signal to cease her rambling. "You realize that you lost it, that's good," he said. "But do you know what it is you need to do now?"

"Work on keeping my temper in check?" Jasmine asked to which Trent nodded in reply.

"Listen, I know Jo can be irritating and honestly, I don't think I would've minded too much if you had popped her in the mouth. But look," he motioned over to the rest of the team, many of whom still wore anxious expressions when the amazon looked at them.

"I've scared them," Jasmine said sadly.

"Unless Jo _seriously_ cleans up her act, I can't see her staying for too long," Trent said as he cast a glare towards the tomboy's back. "But I'd rather you not give her a means to convince the others to vote you off. While I'd like to promise you immunity if we lose, it really wouldn't be fair to everyone else."

"You're right," Jasmine said with a nod. "But I gotta know, why take the time to talk to me about this?"

"Because I want you to lead the Crickets in case I end up going home before the merge," Trent replied.

"Me? I'm flattered mate, but why me?" Jasmine asked with wide-eyes. "You and I barely know each other. I'd figured you'd want Cody or Tyler to take your place if that were to happen. They're your best mates, aren't they?"

Trent shook his head. "I was talking it over with them the other night and I managed to get them to see things from my perspective. A leader has to be someone who always has a good idea on what needs to be done. The only other person who comes to mind is B, but that could prove to be difficult if Dawn isn't around."

"I see, can't really argue with you on that," Jasmine said with her hand on her chin. She then broke into a much more confident smile. "All right then, you sold me. I promise I won't let Jo get under my skin anymore. I think I'll go talk to Shawn for a little while, that'll help me cool down a bit."

She turned and began to walk further inland. Shawn was at her side almost immediately, offering her a sympathetic look. Though she was able to give a little smile in return, it quickly vanished when she looked up and saw several fearful faces on both teams looking back at her. This caused the amazon to look down in sorrow.

Dawn walked up to Jo, who now had her back to everyone. "For someone who isn't too fond of luck, you were tremendously lucky just now," she said.

"And just what makes you say that Fluttershy?" the tomboy sneered.

"Jasmine is more than likely _the_ strongest girl to ever come onto Total Drama, with the exception of Dakota," the moonchild replied. "I've seen her memories, she's been through things you have never come close to experiencing so getting her angry is a _horrible_ idea."

Jo turned around to stare down at Dawn, but the shorter girl didn't flinch under her glare. Unimpressed, Jo said, "Cut to the chase. What point are you trying to make here?"

"That it would be in your best interests to show Trent some proper gratitude for intervening," Dawn replied. "And you can be mad at me for saying this, but you need to get out of your own way. Otherwise your ego will cost you a great deal."

Jo scoffed and looked away with her arms crossed. "Right," she said sarcastically. "Because Little Miss Good Witch knows all and sees all, so of course I just _have_ to listen to her! Well let me tell you something..." she turned back only to see that Dawn was no longer anywhere near her.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Jo - "I hate it when she pulls that trick."

* * *

Now that Jasmine and Shawn had relocated to another spot on the beach, many of the other Crickets quickly began to swarm around their leader, some praising him for his deed while others admonished him for it.

"Dude! I don't think I've ever seen you do something so extreme!" Tyler exclaimed, clapping Trent on the back. "Nice work!"

"Are you serious Tyler?! He's lucky Jasmine didn't kill him!" Sky said while staring at the jock incredulously.

"How can you say something like that Sky?" Sammy asked the gymnast. "Jasmine would never even _think_ about doing something like that, not even when she's mad!"

"Uh, guys?" Rodney spoke up. "I don't think Trent's moved since Jasmine left."

The country boy's remark caused the Crickets to stop talking and for the first time since coming over to him, look closely at their leader. When they did, they saw that Trent's gaze was locked firmly in the direction that Jasmine and Shawn had walked off in.

"Big bro? Are you okay?" Cody asked as he tapped his friend's shoulder. When Trent didn't respond, the others turned to what he was looking at, but didn't see anything that was out of the ordinary.

"Yah, like I don't get it," Staci said. "Trent, why are you just standing there like my great-great-great-great Uncle Francis?" Everyone shot the compulsive liar a bewildered look. "He's the man who invented doing nothing, duh!"

"Just wanna be sure they can't see me," Trent said quietly, not turning to look at any of his teammates.

Before anyone could ask why, the musician quickly fell to his knees and clutched the left side of his chest, all while hyperventilating.

"That...was _so_ intense," Trent slowly shuddered. "I really thought she was going to knock me into next week back there for a minute." He then allowed himself to drop so that he was laying completely flat on his stomach. "I never wanna have to do that again," he said as looking up at his team.

"Wait a minute," Sammy said as she crouched down so she could be at Trent's eye level. "Trent, do you mean to say that you were scared just now?"

"Of course I was scared," the guitarist tiredly said. "You of all people know how strong Jasmine is. I would've been cuckoo in the coconut not to have been scared."

"But then why would you put yourself in that kind of situation?" Sammy asked.

"Well I had to do _something_ ," Trent replied. "Otherwise things could've gone south for us _really_ fast."

"He's right," Sky spoke up. "The sooner we start fighting each other, the easier it'll be for the Lions to win the challenges." She smiled as she looked down at Trent. "You really made the right call."

"Well, it's not as if he doesn't have experience in this kinda thing," Cody said. "Back when we toured with Justin and Harold, they and I tended to argue, _a lot_. Trent was the one who'd usually break things up."

"Oh yah, I read something like that in Star Stalker!" Staci exclaimed. "After that huge fight you and Harold got into over wearing the same outfit after your concert in Winnipeg, Trent had to stick you both in corners in the green room!"

Cody flushed beet red as stifled laughter began to sound among the Crooning Crickets. "Did that really happen?" Sammy asked the geek with a giggle as she stood up.

"Yes," Cody angrily muttered, crossing his arms and looking away from everyone, which only caused his teammates to start openly laughing.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Cody - "Seriously? The _one time_ Staci tells the truth and it has to be about _that_?! Ugh! _*Palms his forehead.*_ For the record, I had bought the outfit first. No matter what Harold says, _he_ was the one copying _me_!"

* * *

"That's enough of that," Trent said as he stood up and dusted the sand off of his shirt. "Right now we gotta decide who will be the next of us to go out there."

"Not a problem Boss," Tyler said pointing his thumb towards himself. "I'll d-"

"Wait!" Sammy shouted, effectively cutting the jock off. "Let _me_ be the next one!"

"What?" Tyler asked in confusion.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Sammy?" Cody asked with a concerned expression. "I mean, I heard Courtney say she was gonna force Amy out there once Cameron got back. Wouldn't you prefer not risking running into her on the island?"

Sammy shook her head. "You clearly don't know my sister the way I do," she replied. "If she thinks there's even the smallest chance her hair will get messed up, there's no way she'll go out there, even if she _could_ use the opportunity to mess with me."

She cast a glance over to the Loquacious Lions and by chance, caught the eye of her elder twin, who wasted no time in sending her an ugly glare. Sammy appeared nervous at first, but then managed to glare back in return.

* * *

 **(Confession Cam)**

Sammy - "Okay so I might've been fibbing a little back there. Even if it means getting covered in garbage, chances are Amy _will_ go to the island if it means getting a chance to get me. And yeah, I'll admit she still kinda scares me. But seeing what Trent did really makes me wanna be a braver person. And besides, Amy's in a swimsuit so there's no way she can have one of my journals on her, which means she has no leverage on me."

* * *

"Sammy, you sure this is what you want?" Trent asked coming up and placing his hand on her shoulder. Although the cheerleader appeared hesitant for a moment, her expression quickly changed to one much more determined, causing her captain to grin in response.

"Then go for it," he told her, offering his fist, which she quickly bumped before heading off.

"I'm not sure about this Trent," Cody said to his friend as the team watched Sammy cross the bridge. "You _do_ remember how nasty her sister can get, right?"

"Of course I do," the Cricket's captain replied. "But I also remember that Sammy's lived with said sister for sixteen years, which is definitely more than I would be able to manage. Besides, you try saying no to that face and tell me how easy it would be."

"That face?" Cody blinked in confusion.

No sooner had Sammy stepped onto the bridge than an enormous ball of trash flew a few mere centimeters away from her face, taking the cheerleader by surprise and causing her to fall back on her bottom. When she looked over to Sam's boat wearing a shocked expression, the gamer could only sheepishly wave with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that," Sam said sincerely. "After Chris sunk his own boat, he told me that if I didn't up my game, he'd put me in the competition. Not that I don't like hanging around you guys, but Dakota's getting home soon and I wanna be there when she does."

"Aww, that's so sweet of yo-" Sammy's reply was swiftly cut off by another round being fired at her direction. Leaping forward, she narrowly missed the rubbish that was shot at her. "Right, now's not the best time to start gushing," she whispered to herself.

She quickly took off, ducking the numerous volleys aimed at her. As several of her teammates cheered her on as she did so, a pan of the camera to the other side of the beach revealed that not many of the Loquacious Lions shared their opposition's enthusiasm.

"Come on Gameboy, shoot her down already! Knock her clean off the bridge!"

The biggest exception would be Amy, who was excitedly letting her desires for her sister to be struck down known to everyone in hearing distance. Despite Sam's efforts though, Sammy managed to jump away from every ball of garbage sent her way. However, with every round the gamer fired, he appeared closer and closer to hitting her, and by the time Sammy reached the middle of the bridge, she appeared to be growing weary.

"What's the matter with you Sam?" Amy shouted out. "I thought you were like, supposed to be a champion at stuff like this or whatever!" After seeing Sam miss again, her expression quickly grew sour. "Ugh! I should've known better than to have faith in a gee-ow!"

Her complaining was cut short once Courtney managed to tighten her grip on the evil twin's ear and drag her back down to the beach.

"I thought I told you to keep quiet!" the type A said. "Do you have any idea how much you're bothering some of us right now?"

"Do you have any idea how little I care?" Amy asked in reply. "This is the perfect opportunity to watch Samey become even a bigger piece of trash than she already is so of course I'm gonna cheer when it happens!"

"Well I'm not too sure that that'll happen anytime soon," Lindsay piped up as she walked up behind Courtney.

"Oh, and why would you say that Airhead?" Amy asked her fellow blonde rudely. Lindsay silently pointed to the bridge where Sammy was nearing the end of her trek to the garbage island.

Undaunted by his previous misses, Sam fired one final shot at the good twin. Seeing it coming, Sammy quickly began to run before going into a forward handspring, handily managing to dodge the garbage and reaching the island in a fluid motion. Though she ended up losing her balance and falling to her bottom once she stopped, this did not deter the eruption of cheers that came from the Crooning Crickets.

"Wow, she's actually pretty good at that," Courtney noted, with Lindsay nodding in agreement. Amy however, was furious.

"That was _my_ move!" the evil twin screeched. "That little wannabe stole _my_ move!" She immediately tried to run onto the bridge, causing Courtney to let go of Lighting's ear in order to use grab her arm and keep her in place.

"You aren't going anywhere! We can't send anybody out until Cameron gets back!"

"Oh please!" Amy snapped. "The little dorkwad's probably bear chow right now! So let me go! Let me at her!"

" _No,_ " Courtney replied firmly. "If something _did_ happen, Chris would've announced it the minute it did!"

"So then, where _is_ Collin?" Lindsay asked the type A.

"A very good question my dear Lindsay," Chris piped up, prompting the camera's focus to be turned onto him. "Has Cameron discovered a way to get Scuba Bear off his teeny, tiny, little back? Or has everyone's favorite bubble boy taken a one way trip down to Davy Jones's Locker? Find out when we return to Total...Drama...Once...Again!"

* * *

 **So, I've got some explaining to do, don't I? First off, I cannot apologize enough to you all for making you wait for more than a year for an update. But to be honest with you, the last months of 2016, and the first months of 2017 just weren't good for me and my family. A lot of things I didn't want to happen did and a lot of things I wanted to happen didn't. We thought we might lose one family member, and actually did end up losing another over the summer. It's been tough and though I was able to think of several ideas, they just didn't transition well whenever I would sit down to write.**

 **Now things have been getting better for us gradually. The aforementioned family member is much, much healthier now and as some of you may know, I recently got a new job. Of course this job, something I've been wanting to do for a _long_ time, has been keeping me fairly busy. But luckily, I don't work weekends now so hopefully I'll be able to have something out before this week is over. However, it might not be a new chapter for _this_ story.**

 **I know what some of you might be thinking right now, TDOA was _just_ updated after months on end, why would I be wanting to work on something else? Honestly, I feel as though I've hit a slump in my writing. While I am glad I was able to find a stopping point for this chapter I have to admit it isn't what I originally envisioned and doesn't feel that good to me as the other chapters did. So I'm hoping that by working on something I've wanted to do for a while, a rewrite of the Total Drama series, I might get back into the swing of things.**

 **This rewrite, which I will be calling the Total Jumbled series, will feature randomized characters in place of the original casts. I know, Fangren did it first with Total Shuffled, however I went to her and asked for permission to use the premise which she was kind enough to grant me. And while I have taken some cues from her, I'd like to think our two writing styles our different enough for people to appreciate and enjoy. And to show that the cast is not the same, allow me to provide some hints as to who will be in the season, that is to say; Total Jumbled Island:**

 **A Delinquent, A Female Bully, a Sweet Girl, a Sweet Girl's Friend, a Geek, a Queen Bee, a Sister with 'Tude, a Cool Musician, a _Jersey Shore_ Reject, a Cadet, a Strong, Silent Genius, a Moonchild, an Athletic Overachiever, an Evil Cheerleader Twin, an Outback Survivalist, a Super-Villain, a Good Cheerleader Twin, a Chris Wannabe, a Human Soundboard, a Normal Guy, a Fairytale Princess and a Zombie Conspiracy Nut.**

 **Similar, but different and I hope you will all check it out.**

 **Now before anyone gets ahead of themselves, I will still be working on this story alongside the Total Jumbled series, the same way Fangren worked on Total Drama Rebirth alongside the Shuffled series. I know some of you had your worries (which I do not blame you for) but I'm here to dispel them now, I fully intend on finishing this story no matter how long it takes.**

 **With all of that being said, thank you a thousand times for your patience and please leave a review for this chapter.**

 **This is Explorer of the Unknown signing out. Stay frosty!**


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